The Story

In the face of the 2020 pandemic, our trader The Coffee Quest along with The Bean Project organized a competition in Huila. The goal of this competition was to generate some guaranteed income for farmers, and increase awareness of the amazing work being done in this community. We purchased the #3 placing coffee, a Caturra from Finca El Paraiso, run by producer Ernedis Rodriguez. Dubbed the Huila Magico competition, the coffee we purchased was truly magical!

In 2021, we were given the opportunity to sample Ernedis's full harvest. We enjoyed all of it, and chose his coffee to be our first large purchase of the year. This lot was comprised of Caturra and Java varietals, and offers a stunning sweetness and clarity of cup that has become part of Ernedis's signature on his coffee. Finca El Paraiso works about 7 hectares (17 acres) of coffee lands on very steep hillsides.

After this 2021 lot won a Good Food Award, we were thrilled to return to Finca El Paraiso and purchase a fresh harvest of this now award-winning coffee. For 2022, Ernedis produced this lot with 100% Caturra, adding a bit more clarity and sweetness to the cup.

Coffee Quest has been working with Ernedis since 2016, and that relationship-- like many that H+S seeks to be involved with-- has created a positive cycle in which the coffee quality and premiums paid rise year over year. A high premium allows reinvestment into the farm, resulting in great quality harvests, which returns a higher premium. Some recent reinvestment includes an auto-sorting wet mill that drastically increases sorting efficiency, and an eco-washer that uses a fraction of the water normally used for washing.

Green Coffee Information

Roast Profiling

Profiling was done with an Ikawa Pro V3 sample roaster. Profiling method was a matrix, beginning with three profiles.

Production Roasting

Based on cupping results from profiling, I decided to aim for a short roast time with moderate finish temp, to give lend complexity and ample development to an otherwise short, bright roast.

Cupping Results

On the table, this coffee shines with clean cup character. Flavors are dominantly peach, apricot, and related stone fruits.

Brewing Recipes

Pour over: Kono Wave
Espresso: 1:4

TDS & Extraction Graphs

Roast profile T1, Kono Wave standard recipe, 5.1 Bunzilla grind
1.28 TDS, 20.4% extraction
Production profile, Kono Wave standard recipe, 5.1 Bunzilla grind
1.35 TDS, 21.2% extraction