Zarza - Bourbon Aji - Colombia

ABOUT THIS COFFEE AND PRODUCER

This coffee comes to us from Zarza Coffee managed by Jhonatan Gasca and his brother Johan from the farm Bella Vista in Bruselas, Huila Colombia. It is an anaerobic washed processed Bourbon Aji varietal. This varietal is similar to “Pink Bourbon” in that it is an Ethiopian Landrace coffee and not genetically tied to Bourbon. After picking, the coffee underwent 3 separate anaerobic fermentations of 12, 24, and 24 hours, 2 with cherry intact and 1 after pulping. They were dried in the sun for 3 to 4 days before mechanical drying.

Jhonatan Gasca is from Pitalito in Huila, Colombia, and grew up in a coffee farming family that was historically focused on quantity over quality, as a more reliable means to make income. Initially aspiring to be a soccer player, Jhonatan and Johan moved to Cali but eventually returned home due to financial difficulties. Encouraged by his mother to study, Jhonatan pursued ecological agricultural and livestock production, leading him to experiment with specialty coffee.

In 2008, Jhonatan, his brother, and uncle began testing specialty coffee cultivation with the farm their father gave them. Despite initial setbacks, including having their first honey-processed coffee rejected due to the appearance, Jhonatan remained committed to quality. Inspired by the friends’ - the Lasso family - success (their friends) with specialty coffees, Jhonatan and Johan aim for global recognition, driven by pride in their family tradition and their product, coffee.

Source: Granja Paraíso 92

WHY WE SELECTED THIS COFFEE

Our green sourcer Harry (@kimoi.coffee) has been hoping for a while to find an opportunity for us to work with Zarza Coffee and the amazing Gasca brothers. After getting in touch with the wonderful folks at Cata Export we were finally able to get some of their coffees on our cupping table and we fell in love with this anaerobic washed Bourbon Aji.

It’s such a unique and exciting varietal, and the way this lot was meticulously and gently processed means it is very clean and offers lots of clarity upfront for this varietal. We get unique florals that mellows into savory teas like chrysanthemum while giving us an exciting depth of acidity that is very well defined with the tartness of hawthorn but with a juiciness like that from blood oranges. As it cools and on the aftertaste we get hints of a sweet bell pepper that is very unique and pleasant. We are excited to offer this clean Bourbon Aji in a light roast to increase some of the incredible citrus juiciness and add balance to the bell pepper aftertaste or soon as an ultralight roast to show off the individual components of the varietal and layered depth of these different flavors for those who want all the spice.