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!

44 year old, second-generation coffee grower Edwin Carvajal has been running Finca Santa Librada for the past six years. The farm is part of an investor group, with Edwin being the spearhead of operations. Finca Santa Librada sits at 1,900 meters above sea level and is 39 hectares in size, of which 12 are dedicated to coffee-growing. There are approximately 30,000 coffee trees. Varieties include Pink Bourbon, Tabi, Caturra, and Gesha. The farm also has a protected reserve within its borders and has a dedicated space for dairy cattle and horses.

Edwin’s lots start by handpicking the ripest cherries, de-pulping, and then leaving them in sealed barrels to ferment for 5 days - this is the anaerobic fermentation phase. However, because the coffee is de-pulped prior to this fermentation, there is a lot less fermentation happening than there is in something like a natural anaerobic fermentation, where the whole cherry is left intact around the beans. This coffee quite frankly just tastes like an absolutely top quality washed coffee as there is no fermenty funk whatsoever. After the 5 day fermentation, the parchment is then washed and placed to dry on raised beds for 15 – 20 days, depending on the weather.

This 100% Pink Bourbon lot has electric acidity, but the acidity is balanced by the tremendous sweetness. We taste pomegranate, pink grapefruit, orange, and flowers. We might actually like this one better than the winning lot, but we seem to change our mind each time we taste one of them. Both are truly special coffees!

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 makes this coffee taste incredibly juicy. Orange juice, grapefruit juice, pomegranate juice. Just juice! Great acidity and sweetness.

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. The grapefruit and pomegranate notes are definitely still very present but they are like underripe fruits rather than being balanced.

Rao/Perger water gives an excellent flavor profile that is just a little bit less sweet and juicy than full strength Third Wave Water. However, this water offers the most nuance and complexity - the florals really pop.

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!