Innovation comes in many forms throughout the various levels of the specialty coffee supply chain, but it is especially important to highlight the resilience, dedication and talent to be found in remarkable producers the world over. Delfin Carvajal of Garzon, Huila in Southwestern Colombia is one such producer, and when our team came across a naturally processed coffee from his farm El Corozal, we booked it directly after our first tasting. About 75km north of Pitalito, where Topeca’s staple Colombian Laboyano washed coffee is grown and processed, Delfin and his brother, Euclides own and operate El Corozal, a three hectare property situated 1500 meters above sea level. There are over 20,000 coffee trees being grown here of various cultivars that perform particularly well in this area of Colombia. The proliferation of naturally processed coffees from this region has been exciting to witness, but few of the offerings our team has tried over the years possessed the clarity and richness that this coffee does. This is likely because Delfin and his team have been innovators in overhauling their mechanical drying process to preserve and distinguish the sensory characteristics that make coffees from Huila really shine through in the cup. They also have worked extensively within their community to collaborate with local producers on experimenting with other varieties as well as marketing their craft to the world. In Delfin’s own words, “Growing and producing specialty coffee is an opportunity for us to live with dignity, and for this reason, we do it with passion and discipline.”

This coffee starts off with a bouquet of tropical fruits, a ripe banana sweetness, and is punctuated with a tart freshness reminiscent of cascara.