Our friends Laura and William at Minga have been helping us source amazing coffees for several years. We're delighted to showcase a few new Colombian naturals from them this season, including this lot from husband-and-wife team Hervey and Rocio.
This particular lot is more about supporting a farmer than it is about the flavour. Don’t get us wrong – this coffee is super tasty if you enjoy a fruity, boozy profile with notes of golden rum, raspberry, and tamarind!
That’s not the reason we bought it, though. Hervey is an earnest, well-intentioned farmer with a relatively small farm who has been working with Minga to improve his quality and yield. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of untimely rains at his farm ... which led to a lot of cherries splitting on the tree, which increased the risk of defective cups. We told Hervey that we wanted to support his transition to more naturally processed coffees rather than washed, so we agreed to buy several sacks of his coffee before the season started (and the bad rains came). The quality and yield weren't what we or Harvey hoped for, but we thought it was important to buy the coffee anyway and keep our word. We had to overpay for the coffee relative to quality, so we're selling it at razor-thin margins – but sometimes that's the way it goes when you take the risk off farmers and put it on yourself! With Hervey's dedication to improvement and William and Laura's support, we're positive that in future years we'll have even more beautiful lots to share from his farm.
Hervey and Rocio Cuellar have been coffee producers their entire lives, initially growing castillo for the commodity market. However, at 34, Hervey wanted to move beyond being a commodity producer, so he sought out renowned gesha varietals in hopes of entering the specialty market and forming a direct connection with his customers. At the same, he works at finding the right process to add value to his castillo. His commitment to finding the perfect profile is a reminder of the unseen hard work behind specialty coffees. The Minga team in Pitalito has tasted countless experiments from Hervey, which has been a valuable learning experience for us and has helped us build a strong friendship with both Hervey and Rocio.
It is important to acknowledge Rocio in this achievement because women often work behind the scenes in the coffee businesses of smallholders. Rocio takes care of all the farm workers, cooks tirelessly every day for 5 to 15 people, and ensures everyone has what they need before heading out to work on the farm or in the mill.
Elevation: 1700 MASL
Varietal: Castillo
Cup Score: 86
Price paid per kg: £14.25
Process: Natural
