Colombia is by far one of the most celebrated origins in the world of coffee, specialty or otherwise. It is the fourth largest coffee-producing country by volume globally, which would already be impressive enough on its own, but the South American state is also famous for producing some of the best specialty-grade Arabica you could hope to taste. This particular coffee, roasted by Quaffee, comes from Las Flores, a farm located in Colombia’s heralded Huila region. 

Thanks to its proximity to the Andean mountain range, Huila boasts the kind of high altitudes, temperatures, climate and nutrient-rich soil that make it an ideal area for farming specialty-grade Arabica coffee. It’s one of Colombia’s most famous coffee-producing regions, accounting for around 18% of the country’s entire coffee harvest, and has produced numerous Cup of Excellence-winning coffees in the past.

Las Flores belongs to 3rd-generation producer Jhoan Vergara, and it’s been in his family for some 40 years now. He took over the farm in 2018, and made the bold decision to start growing Pink Bourbon, Red Bourbon, Tabi, Java, and Maracaturra coffee plants and going all-in on specialty lots, despite his father’s initial resistance– until then, the farm had worked exclusively with high-yield Caturra. Today, while Jhoan manages the farming operations, his older brother handles processing, and his younger brother handles sales and human resources. Jhoan, like many innovative Colombian producers, employs a range of cutting-edge processing methods to each of his coffees to maximise their flavour potential.

This particular coffee has been subjected to something called an “anaerobic soak”. Essentially, after being sealed in an oxygen-deprived, strictly controlled environment for 40 hours, the coffee was then allowed to ferment aerobically for a further 20 hours. Following this, it was submerged in a solution that contained the coffee cherry’s own juices and allowed to ferment for another 12 hours. The resulting coffee should offer something quite different to the coffee you may be used to.

Phaedon's tasting notes

Full disclosure: Warren and I don't always agree on tasting notes. It's also only fair for me to point out that his palate is way more experienced than mine, so where we disagree, you should probably give more credence to his notes. However, I was particularly chuffed about one little word I read in his description, after having finished my adventures with my sample bag: lime! Yes! We see eye to eye (palate to palate?) on this one, at least. That lime acidity is one of the most enjoyable qualities of this lovely coffee.

That's not all that's going on with this coffee though. That lime acidity is accompanied by a fairly "big" mouthfeel, plenty of sweetness, and, at risk of going back to disagreeing with Warren, I found some lovely nutty notes, particularly in my moka pot brew.

Despite the anaerobic soak, this coffee also has a very clean character; there's nothing murky or funky going on here. I was particularly impressed with how clean it tasted in my French press, where you'd think the less effective filtration would sully that particular quality. I give this coffee two enthusiastic thumbs up (and a limey high-five).

Quaffee’s notes

• Taste profile: Red apple, cocoa, vanilla, and lime acidity on the finish
• Roast used: What Quaffee calls a bump and kick into first crack, with short dev time.
• Roast degree: Light - medium
• Quaffee brews:
• Espresso: 1:2.2
• AeroPress: 17.5g:200g
• Plunger: 36g:600g
• Pour-over/filter: 18g:300g

Coffee details from Quaffee

• Farm: Finca Las Flores
• Owner: Jhoan Vergara
• Region: Huila
• Country: Colombia
• Altitude: 1850masl
• Processing: Anaerobic soak
• Species/Variety: Arabica Tabi

Quaffee’s transparency information

• Sourced from: Sabores
• FOB price: $13.37 per kg; logistics was around R60/kg as per Sabores
• Cupping score: 87.5 (Sabores)
• Lot size bought: 23kgs
• Relationship: Quaffee’s relationship with Sabores goes back to 2019, this was their first coffee from Las Flores.