La Pradera Pink Bourbon
Balanced Profile | Light-medium roast
Tasting Notes: Floral, Lemonade, Mandarin Orange
IT ALL STARTS AT THE COFFEE FARM
Finca La Pradera is located in Santa Maria, Huila, Colombia, and is managed by Luis Enrique Cuellar and his brother Robinson. Luis Enrique is an agronomist by trade and manages the plots of land, while Robinson manages the processing and drying of the coffee, complementing each other with their individual strengths. The brothers have 13,000 coffee trees in production, with varietals ranging from Caturra and Pacamara to the more rare Chiroso and Gesha, as well as this rare and delicious Pink Bourbon varietal.
Once arriving at their wet-mill, the coffee cherries are left to ferment for 24 hours, after which they are floated to remove under or over-ripes. Next, they go through a process called de-pulping, where the coffee fruit is stripped from the seeds. The seeds are then left to ferment, and dry for another 48-52 hours. A little bit of mucilage (residual sugar and fruit) is left on the seeds, and they are then dried in a traditional greenhouse structure for anywhere from 18 to 25 days, depending on the weather.
Though the farm does not currently have environmental certifications, Enrique does have several sustainable practices he wanted to note:
1. Established and implemented a shade-tree system across the farm, which is not common in Colombia.
2. Attempts to reduce carbon footprint by using nitrogen-free products in the farm, such as fertilizers.
3. Use of an eco-washer to reduce water-usage during washing and also to reduce and eliminate contamination that might go into clean water streams (these eco-washers separate the "honey water").
4. To control weeds on the farm, he uses a weed whacker instead of harmful products like round-up. The cuttings also serve to protect the ground from high temperatures (they leave the cuttings on the soil).
5. Finally, he hopes to implement add an organic process to the farm, which would would be a mix of chicken manure, together with organic fertilizer that he will create on the farm himself.
Coffee drying greenhouse, La Pradera
Coffee drying patio, La Pradera
View from La Pradera
TRACEABILITY
COUNTRY
Colombia
REGION
Huila
IMPORTER
The Coffee Quest
VARIETAL
Pink Bourbon
PRODUCER
Luis Enrique and Robinson Cuellar
MILL / WASHING STATION
On the farm
PROCESSING
Washed
ALTITUDE
2050 meters
DID YOU KNOW
As Stephen from Coffee Quest Importers notes, "In years past, when there was less production, the picking was a family affair. However, with the trees now as adults, they hire pickers, but they are paid wages far above the average to ensure only ripe cherries are selected (~40% above the average, huuuge)."
PRICE TRANSPARENCY
$6.60
Price paid by Driftaway
$5.26
Free on Board price
$25,000 Colombian Peso per Kg of Dry Parchment
Farm Gate price
$2.68
Fair Trade price per pound
$2.48
Coffee C-Market price per pound
$0.05
Driftaway's World Coffee Research contribution per pound
This coffee travelled 2,610 miles to the Driftaway Coffee roastery in Queens.
Love the coffee? You can share your compliments & tasting observations with the farmers.
WHY DID WE SELECT THIS COFFEE?
This coffee is an exceptional example of the Pink Bourbon varietal, with multi-dimensional floral aromas, and layers of sweet citrus, and sugary dates. It blew us away with its complexity and inherent balance.
AVERAGE CUPPING SCORE
86.75
/100
86.75
SCAA Cupping Score
10 x 70 kg
Bags purchased
1 year
Length of producer relationship
100% (in 2023)
Transparent coffees purchased
HOW DID WE ROAST THIS COFFEE?
This coffee is being roasted by Ian T. from October 7 to November 1 in Brooklyn. We use the Loring Kestrel roaster for this profile. We have strict guidelines for each of the coffee profiles, and this roast has to pass the development time ratio test as measured in real-time by the roasting software, Cropster. Once it does, it is approved for production.
QUALITY CONTROL
We perform Quality Control via a process of coffee tasting called cupping on all of our production roasts once a week at our roastery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Each cupping is conducted by Ian T., Anu M., Suyog M., and James M. using standard equipment, and is logged by our Q-certified cupper Ian T. All coffees are evaluated on a scoring scale of 0 to 3.
- 3.0 = exceptional roast - exceeds expectations
- 2.5 = on par with profile - matches expectations
- 2.0 = good roast, but 1 or 2 elements could be improved - needs improvement
- 1.5 or lower = failed - do not ship
PRODUCTION AND SHIPPING
Less than 24 hours after roasting, we bag your coffee in our production facility in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Our production team is led by Anthony and Torie, and supported by a rotating cast of local artists, musicians and independent professionals.
AT YOUR HOME
Brew this coffee with your favorite home brewer and enjoy the taste of incredible coffee! Here are a few tips on how to make the best coffee on each brewer.
View other posts about how to make better coffee at home on our blog Coffeecademy.
