Colombia. An origin that means a lot to us. Synonymous with our Super Specials offering and one of the most diverse origins, with a constant crop of high quality coffee.
The region has a 300 year history with the coffee plant, after being brought by the Jesuits. In terms of varietals we mostly see Caturra and Castillo, but also Tabi, Bourbon, and Typica (and that's not including the incredible range of Cafe Granja la Esperanza - where Gesha's take top spot). Flavour profiles are varied and complex, matching up to the incredibly diverse landscape Colombia has - micro-climates and high growing ranges combine with ideal soil conditions for some perfect cups.
Colombia's farmers are mostly smallholders, and unfortunately we are already seeing the effects of climate change with these microclimates suffering from dramatic effects. Smallholders operate on artisanal levels to achieve the best of their crop in their environment and adaptation to the consequences of climate change is a large undertaking.
2022
FUNKY FRUITY PHOENIX
NOTES: high intensity, stewed strawberries, a hint of chocolate
VARIETY: Caturra
REGION: Tolima
ALTITUDE: 1500 - 1700 masl
PROCESS: natural
MEMBERS OF CO-OP: 45 producers
HARVEST: 2022
Remember your first time? You’ll never forget. Maybe it was alright, maybe it wasn’t - it’s best not to think too much about it now because we’re not talking about that we’re talking about this. The Palocabildo farmers produced their first natural coffee this year, but with results like this you’d never know.
With an aim to reduce the amount of water used (saving gallons a month), the farmers have developed a beautiful cup filled with berries, papaya, and caramel. The Fruity Phoenix combines the efforts of 8 farms and 45 producers, their skills and their knowledge, to create more sustainable and funky coffees.
At 1500-1700 masl the region of Tolima is one of the largest coffee producing regions in Colombia; the difference with the Palocabildo project is that these farmers are also being given the tools and education to learn not just new techniques, but also to bridge the gap between the farm and sourcing within varietal markets.
This Caturra variety has scored them an extra point on the cupping table in contrast to their former washed outputs - if this is their first time, we can’t wait to see what else comes next.
LA MARIA NATURAL
NOTES: funky, tropical, red fruits
VARIETY: Pink Bourbon
REGION: Caldas
ALTITUDE: 1750 - 1950 masl
PROCESS: natural
PRODUCER: Deiro Garcia
HARVEST: 2022
La Maria is back! This coffee was much loved last year and this harvest is tasting great!
This year we got the washed and natural process versions of this coffee so you can taste them side by side.
First up it’s the natural - a Pink Bourbon variety grown at between 1750 and 1950 masl in the Caldas region and was fermented in cherry in aerobic conditions directly on drying beds.
This year it’s that same boozy funky flavour profile with dried fruit and a little tropical fruit as well!
2021
SECO DE MANREPO
NOTES: sweet spices, dried cherry, plums, full body
VARIETY: Castillo
REGION: Manizales, Caldas
ALTITUDE: 1800 masl
PROCESS: natural
PRODUCER: Jose Manuel Jimenez
HARVEST: 2020
Six years ago, no one ever heard about anaerobic or carbonic macerated coffee’s before. These days they’ve become quite common. As you are reading this you are probably thinking: “sure I’ve had a few of those coffees”
In short, they are processed with extended fermentation of the coffee beans in cherry.
At Friedhats we liked these coffee’s right from the start, because they usually taste very funky, fruity and boozy. Luckily we are able to buy some of these exotics through the producers and importers we work with. One of them is Nordic Approach. They are working with producers trying to make these processing methods more accessible and scalable, so more people can drink them (:
This coffee is also part of one of these projects called “bomba de fruta”. Produced by José Manuel Jimenez, owner of the dry mill Seco de Manrepo. It’s a blend of cherries from many small producers from the municipality of Manizales, in the department of Caldas This particular coffee though, didn’t turn out to be the crazy tropical fruit punch we thought it would be. It is however a very nice coffee. It’s thick, sweet, balanced and tastes like plums and sweet spices.