Our Top Box represents a snapshot of some of the best coffee selections we have to offer on a monthly basis. It typically contains a mix of 4oz bags of limited availability micro-lots, fresh crop arrivals, and/or new seasonal blends. In March, savor the arrival of seasonal delights with our coffees boasting rich notes of tropical fruit, clementine, and cherry cola.
In the Box:
Colombia Laboyano Washed
Laboyano is the top quality lot carefully curated by our sourcing partners, The Coffee Quest, at their washing station in Pitalito, southern Huila. The name of this coffee comes from the Laboyano’s Valley, as the area around the city of Pitalito is called. The term Laboyano is, indeed, the colloquial Spanish word to refer to people from this region. So, the name is a tribute to the hard work of several dedicated Laboyanos who produce these high quality coffee varieties, which includes a generous amount of Pink Bourbon. The cup offers a quintessential Huila profile, defined by a brown butter sweetness and creamy texture accented by a tart fruity acidity. Aromatic flavors of Amareno cherry, red grape, cola, and brown sugar, comingle to create a complex, yet balanced cup of coffee.
Colombia Finca El Corozal Natural
When our team came across a naturally processed coffee from Delfin Carvajal's farm, El Corozal, we booked it directly after our first tasting. About 75km north of Pitalito, Delfin and his brother, Euclides own and operate El Corozal, a three hectare property situated 1500 meters above sea level. 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.
Colombia El Jardin Honey
Jorge Rojas began working in the industry at age thirteen, learning a great deal about the trade under the tutelage of his mother. Through inheritance and acquisition, Jorge started his own seven acre smallholding that he called El Jardin in Planadas, Tolima Colombia. On his farm, he grows Caturra, Yellow and Pink Bourbon, as well as some Ethiopian heirloom varieties like Wush-Wush and the world famous Gesha. He and his team are currently building a mill where they plan to improve their processing not only for El Jardin, but for a number of the other producers in his region. Jorge, and the team at Finca El Jardin serve as a fantastic example of not only the hard work, resilience and dedication required to grow exceptional coffee, but also of how coffee agriculture is often an integral part of how people across the world connect to their communities and to their shared heritage. The confluence of these efforts shines through in the cup, and we couldn’t be more excited to be offering such a wonderful coffee brought to us by a truly gifted producer such as Jorge and his team at El Jardin.
This honey process coffee begins with clementine sweetness, a cantaloupe florality, and finishes off with a richness reminiscent of fresh hazelnut.