This coffee represents the third appearance of producer José Herman Salazar on our Reserve Lot Menu, and our first time featuring a pink bourbon variety separation from his family farm. Since our first opportunity to offer his Cup of Excellence winning ‘bourbon aji’ variety in 2021, we’ve remained impressed by the unique complexity of his coffees and are delighted to share yet another example of the outstanding quality he and his family produce.

This coffee is presented under José’s name, however, he would be the first to say that each lot produced on the farm is very much an expression of shared family endeavor. While José is involved in all aspects of the family’s coffee enterprise, his particular focus is on the trees and the harvest, his daughter Blanca assists with general farm management and record keeping, and his wife Marina Elina Ansasoy devotes particular attention to processing and drying. Three main varieties are cultivated on the Salazar family farm: Pink Bourbon, Castillo, and Bourbon Ají. While we continue to enjoy and purchase lots of ‘bourbon aji’ from the Salazar family farm, when offered the opportunity to feature a separation of his pink bourbon variety we could not refuse. With the pink bourbon variety becoming increasingly ubiquitous and celebrated in Colombia over the past few years, releasing this coffee represents a special opportunity to taste the Salazar’s expression of this variety alongside the many other examples featured across our Reserve and Education lot menus.

The family processes their coffee using an approach that is typical for many small producers in Huila: after careful cherry selection and floating to remove defects, the coffee is pulped and transferred to sealed containers for a fermentation of 36-50 hours. When these steps have been completed, the coffee is washed with clean water, passed through a final mechanical cleaning machine, and finally dried on a covered patio for 15-25 days.