Colombia Finca El Mirador Pink Bourbon Natural

The Process

This lot is naturally processed with an extended 46 hour anaerobic cherry fermentation. Cherries are selecively harvested by hand, washed, fermented without the presence of oxygen for 46 hours and then dried in a marquesinha (a specialised drying marquee) for 20-25 days with the coffee being turned once a day in order to ensure consistent drying.

History of Coffee in Colombia

As with many coffee origins, it is believed that coffee was first brought to Colombia by priests, arriving, perhaps, within a decade or two after coffee first came to the Americas via the Caribbean in the first half of the 17th century. It was likely a garden crop grown for local consumption and barter for decades. Unlike other coffee regions, we have the story of a priest named Francisco Romero, who could be called the father of commercial coffee cultivation in Colombia. The folkloric tale goes that in the early 1800’s, Father Francisco, hearing confessions in the north eastern town of Salazar de la Palmas, assigned planting coffee to his parishioners as penance for their sins. The Archbishop of Colombia heard about this and ordered all priests to adopt the practice. Commercial production of coffee expanded quickly, moving into regions where the growing conditions were ideal.