Colombia El Aguacate Franklin Moreno 2021

New crop arrived in late December 2016 and this is our first offering. This very limited microlot comes from the Narino region of Colombia from a farm called Llano Verde. In August one of our employees was an international judge at a competition called "Mejor de Narino" hosted by a Colombian coffee exporting company called Inconexus. National judges whittled down 300 coffees to the top 30 and judges from all parts of the world then gathered to evaluate which were the top 10 coffees to be included in a live auction at the end of the competition.

• Farm: Llano Verde
• Producer: Geovany Gualguan
• Origin: Colombia
• Region: Narino
• Municipality: Buesaco
• Altitude: 2100 meters /
• Varietal: Caturra
• Processing: Washed and fully sun dried

This coffee is grown at an exceedingly high altitude of 2100 meters, almost as high as is possible in the world of coffee. This is due to the farm's location near the equator. The farm is located a 1 degree north latitude but even there cool nights can occasionally be threatened by frost. The benefits of such high grown coffee lie in the concentration of flavors. Coffee cherries grow smaller at these altitudes as do the beans (or seeds) within. It takes more cherries to make a pound of finished coffee too due to the reduced size. The reward is in the flavor.

The auction took place on the last evening of the event and was attended by all of the producers. This lot of coffee consisted of a mere 6 bags of coffee and Merisa from Willoughby's bid on and won the entire lot. This particular coffee ranked 6th place out of the top 20 that were chosen by the international judges. The producer of this coffee, Geovany Gualguan, runs the farm with his wife and children. The farm is located at a very impressive 2000 meters and the varietals grown are Colombia and Caturra. While at origin Merisa had the pleasure of visiting his farm the day after the auction. The farm itself sits on the slope of a mountain and is extremely steep, which is ironic given that the farm name "Llano Verde" translates to green plain. Great care goes into safely climbing up the mountain to pick only the ripest cherries which are then brought to a mill right near the farm for processing.

Cup Characteristics: Brown sugar aroma, dark fruit flavors of raisin and black currant. Red wine acidity with a rhubarb finish, big body and a silky mouthfeel.