Why We Love This Roast

We are absolutely thrilled to present our favorite coffees from the 4th annual Huila Mágico competition! This has become one of the highlights of the year for us: Huila is one of our favorite growing regions in the world, and these are the finest coffees the region has to offer. In the inaugural competition (2021), we purchased the 1st, 2nd, and 7th place coffees. In 2022, we purchased the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place coffees. Last year, we purchased the 3rd and 4th place coffees. And this year, we purchased the 1st, 2nd, and 4th place coffees!

52 year old, second-generation coffee grower Aldemar Osorio has been running Finca La Primavera, which he inherited from his father, for 25 years. His son is starting his own farm next door, so the legacy will live on! Aldemar has 4 hectares consisting of approximately 16,000 coffee trees. Varieties include Caturra, Castillo, Pink Bourbon, and Pacamara, and he has recently planted 1,400 Chiroso trees which are not yet mature. In addition to coffee, he grows avocados and plantains.

Aldemar is part of Productores del Futuro and has received one-on-one tutoring with The Coffee Quest’s field wizard Alberto, helping Aldemar achieve a differentiated cup. His lots start by harvesting the ripest of cherries, which are then left to ferment in closed barrels with Aldemar’s own recipe of coffee mucilage and water for 90 hours - this is the “yeast inoculation” phase, which is actually an anaerobic fermentation phase with a specific yeast strain called Oro - before washing. Parchment is then placed to dry on raised beds for around 12 – 15 days, depending on the weather.

In this 100% Caturra lot, we taste grape kool-aid, strawberry, ripe raspberry, and apple juice, with a hint of rum in the finish. This is a fruity one!

Water Recommendation: 

For those of you who want to get every last drop of excellence out of this coffee, our preferred brewing water (at least for cupping) is full strength Third Wave Water (130ppm GH, 40ppm KH), though Rao/Perger water (90ppm GH, 42ppm KH) is not far behind.

Full-strength Third Wave Water gives a very sweet, juicy cup with the most grape kool-aid flavor.

Half-strength Third Wave Water (65ppm GH, 20ppm KH), which is nearly identical to Lance Hedrick’s Light & Bright water (60ppm GH, 25ppm KH), gives a much more acid-driven cup profile that lacks sweetness and complexity. A not quite ripe raspberry flavor dominates the cup.

Rao/Perger water gives an excellent flavor profile that is just a little less sweet and less grape-forward than full strength Third Wave Water. This water offers the most nuance and complexity.

Philadelphia water (Baxter water supply) filtered with a three-stage carbon system with a little softening (somewhat similar to what a Brita pitcher would do) also gives an excellent cup profile, most similar to full strength Third Wave Water, though there is a bit more generic brown “coffee-like” flavor to it.

If this is all very confusing—check out our blog post on water for coffee!