Bursting with crisp and juicy goodness, this El Vergel Pink Bourbon is a honey processed coffee that cups like a washed. We think it’s exquisite, and it doesn't hurt that El Vergel is an amazing vertically integrated farm, which means we can get this coffee with a secure chain of custody that benefits everyone involved.
El Vergel Estate in Tolima, Colombia is renowned for producing exceptional coffees. We’re releasing two coffees from them, one Pink Bourbon (this one) and the other a Yellow Bourbon. Both of them are delicious and the kind of flavour bomb coffees we’ve come to expect from this farm. Despite being famous for its outstanding and often experimental coffees, El Vergel actually only transitioned to coffee production in 2009-2010. It began as an avocado farm in 1995 and became one of the most productive avocado farms in Colombia until 2009-10, when there was a drop in the market price for avocados caused by a disease that affected the crop. Martha Bayter, the mother of Elias and Shady Bayter who run the farm today, decided to diversify to protect the family business. This decision proved instrumental in helping El Vergel thrive. They have gone from strength to strength, today growing 28 varietals of arabica and developing many experimental processes, including the koji process, which they created alongside Finnish barista champion Kaapo Paavolainen and American coffee consultant Christopher Feran.
This is also our first time buying coffee from Forest Green, an importer that focuses on Colombian coffee and has a close partnership with El Vergel Estate. We recently hosted the Forest Green team in Brighton at our Florence Road Cafe and held a public cupping to showcase some of their great coffees. It was a lot of fun and a great chance to share an importer cupping with the general public. In our opinion these kinds of things are too often only held in roasteries rather than in cafes where more people can experience them!
We’re excited to have these coffees on our list along with some other absolutely incredible juicy fun coffees releasing over the next few weeks. Summer really is in full swing!
Elevation: 1900 Meters Above Sea Level
Varietal: Pink Bourbon
Cup score: 88
Price paid per kg: £14.09
Process: Light mucilage honey (washed adjacent)
