Christmas Brews – Week #1
Available until Wednesday 10th December 

Hailing from the township of Buenos Aires, in Nariño, Colombia, smallholder producer Raquel sustainably farms small volumes of geisha and a varietal she dubbed borbon sutil, and empowers others in her community to do the same.

Considered to be one of the many seeds that falls within the pink borbon family, Raquel’s version hails from Huila, and was found to be delicious, and a bit more sutil (ie subtle) than the standard Huila pink borbon profile and so gained this name.

Beyond the seed’s very intentional provenance (from a cup of excellence winning family member), the goodness of this coffee derives equally from the unique climate and soil of this part of Narino and Raquel’s organic farm management and processing diligence.

No fancy tricks or experimental fermentation regimes apply here: Raquel (ably assisted by her husband Carlos) simply picks the ripest cherries (making many passes with the help of neighbours) and follows with same-day depulping and a 24-40 hour fermentation in closed plastic drums.

Drying is on beds for an average of 16 days.While many exotics cross our path, Raquel’s coffee always stand out. This is a beautiful, complex, ever-shifting coffee from a very small scale and inspiring producer.