About this Coffee
Grupo Asociativo El Bombo Pitalito Inza, Asombombofor short, was founded by Luis Alfredo Diaz toincrease market access and attain fair, sustainableprices for their coff ee. Today, more than 80 membersare Organic certifi ed and sell their coff ees withAsobombo to garner higher prices for their hard work.
About Pink Bourbon
Pink Bourbon, a hybrid of Yellow and Red Bourbon varieties, was first discovered and grown in Colombia. Taste-wise, Pink Bourbon has all the advantages of its Bourbon parents. The highlights of the typical Pink Bourbon profile is the strong floral notes and pleasant acidity frequently found in East African coffees.
And there’s more than color and altitude on its side. Chemical breakdowns have found that Pink Bourbonhas higher glucose content. This additional glucose—a type a sugar—means not only a sweeter cup, butalso a silkier body and more luscious mouthfeel.
Some farmers also report that Pink Bourbon has more disease resistance than is Red and Yellow parents.
Harvest & post-harvest
In Pitalito, farms tend to be slightly larger than other regions of Colombia. Most farms here are between 3and 5 hectares, compared to 1 to 3 hectares in otherregions. Most of the families living in Pitalito today immigrated from Nariño in the 19 and 20 centuries. Nariño used to be much more densely populated than Huila,but many people migrated to Pitalito in search of affordable, fertile land. In addition to coffee, many producers in Pitalito also grow sugarcane. Asobombo helped member communities build mills where farmers can process sugarcane into panela, a typical raw sugarcane product that is common in rural Colombia.
Members and their families selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on their farm. After picking, they hand sort cherry to ensure only the best quality cherries processed. They pulp cherry on small handcrank pulpers and ferment it in tanks for 12 to 36 hours. Following fermentation,parchment is washed in clean water and laid inparabolic beds, marquesinas or patios to dry. Theyrake parchment frequently to ensure even drying.
About Hulia
The Huila region is one of the most well-known coffee growing areas of Colombia. The Department of Huila has a population of 1.125 million and is located in the south west of the country. The capital of the department is Neiva, a city of about 380,000.
Along with Cauca and Nariño, Huila is one the three departments where the Colombian Massif is located.A massif is a group of mountain ranges, and the Colombian Massif, which is known locallyas Nudo de Almaguer, provides up to 70% of safedrinking and agricultural water for the Colombian population.
The Magdalena River, the Colombia’s largest river,runs through the region, providing plenty of water for coffee farming and generating (directly andindirectly) up to 86% of Colombia GDP. The mountainrange also features the fertile volcanic soil so typical to the Andean Mountains.
Coffee in Columbia
Colombia has been producing and exporting coffee renowned for their full body, bright acidity and rich after taste, since the early 19th century.
Colombia boasts a wide range of climates and geographic conditions that, in turn, produce their own unique flavors in coffee. This also means that harvest times can vary quite a bit. In fact, between all its different regions, Colombia produces fresh crop nearly all year round.
The increasing focus on the specialty industry is changing the way traders and farmers do business. It is becoming more common for farmers to isolate the highest quality beans in their lots to market separately. These higher-quality lots are often sold under specific brands or stories.
Besides its wide variety of cup profiles, Colombia has quickly expanded its certification options over thepast 10 years. The most common certifications available are Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ and Organic.
