Colombia
Huila
Elkin Ferney Guzman Vargas
El Mirador
Orange Bourbon
Carbonic Maceration Washed
April–November
Green Apple, Honeydew, Cherry, Floral
1615 meters
N/A
35 kg; 25 kg
SOLD OUT
Located in the town of Pitalito in Huila, Colombia, El Mirador is a 32-hectare farm with 30 hectares of coffee. The farm includes a broad collection of varieties like Catiope, Mokka, Tabi, and Gesha, as well as three different Bourbon strains including Orange, Striped, and Pink Bourbon. Caturra is a core variety for the farm as well, making it a staple for volume lots.
Elkin Guzman, the owner of El Mirador, has been surrounded by coffee since he was born. His family has always been involved in coffee cultivation, trading, or retail. Collectively, his family has celebrated over 70 years in coffee now, with 12 years of research devoted to post-harvest processing techniques. All of this research and experience has brought Elkin to utilize multiple processing techniques depending on the individual lot of coffee, including Coffee Maceration, Lactic and Acetic Natural processes, and Natural Hydro Honey.
Harvest and post-harvest procedures are highly standardized for consistency and quality. First, the sugar content of the coffee cherries is measured in degrees Brix, followed by density and volumetric separation. Finally, the decision is made on which processing method is best suited to bring each lot to its fullest potential. The processing methods used by Elkin embody his pioneering spirit, combining different approaches to fermentation and drying techniques to complement each coffee’s inherent characteristics. In the case of this lot of Orange Bourbon coffee, the team at El Mirador chose Washed processing, which includes a period of carbonic maceration. Orange Bourbon is a natural mutation of the common Bourbon variety. Diana Devia Sanchez, Elkin’s wife and partner, took a trip to Finca Los Pirineos in El Salvador to learn more about coffee and the work that Don Gilberto Baraona and his team do there. After a week visit they decided to take part in a seed exchange between the two farms, and Orange Bourbon was one of the varieties that El Mirador received.
The Carbonic Maceration Washed process begins with selecting cherries that have measured between 20–24 degrees Brix. The coffee is first sorted by floating the cherries in water to remove defects, which is followed by hand sorting to remove dark and overripe fruit. After sorting, the cherries are fermented in plastic tubs for 60–96 hours before being pulped. The pulped coffee is then put back into the tubs with the same juice that was produced during the initial fermentation; this juice is rich in sugars and microorganisms which aid in the secondary fermentation. The tubs are sealed for this stage, allowing the microorganisms to metabolize the sugar chains of the cherry’s mucilage and build up CO2 in the containers, creating the environment for carbonic maceration. This fermentation lasts for 80–120 hours before the coffee is fully washed, finally moving to be dried for 18–25 days.
The Colombian Department of Huila is located in the southern portion of the country where the Central and Eastern ranges of the Andes mountains converge. Huila’s capital city of Neiva is dry, flat, and desert-like, markedly different from the coffee regions further south.
Centered around the city of Pitalito, Huila’s coffee farms are predominantly smallholder owned, and over the past ten years have made concerted efforts to produce specialty coffee that reveals the full character of the region’s terroir. Selective manual harvesting, attentive processing, and careful post-harvest sorting all contribute to increasing recognition of the region.
Huila’s departmental coffee committee, the local connection to the national Colombian Coffee Growers Federation, has invested notable resources into training producers in everything from fertilization to roasting. This, combined with producer enthusiasm, has created a regional culture of quality-focused production.
Huila holds important historic significance dating back to pre-Columbian cultures. The archeological site at San Agustin includes a large number of stone carvings, figures, and artifacts that offer a rare glimpse into the land’s past prior to colonialism.
