[45] Colombia - Edwin Bohórquez [CROP 23/24 ARCHIVE]

Having run down the first half of our 3 bag allocation via a collaboration coffee, we finished the last of this lot from Edwin in just 3 weeks, running from 15/01/25 to 29/01/25

Our final lot from the 2024 LaReb selection is from Edwin Bohórquez. Edwin is a member of the CDNT producer group, a producer group set up by LaReb founder Herbert Peñaloza for farms with similar profile and variety expression, creating an excellent field blend representative of the Tolima profile. In this single lot separation, we've seen some excellent value add processing to the classic Colombian varieties; making a very chuggable cup with lots of complexity.

Brew Guide:

Best Brewed with: Filter

Light Roaster influence: Naturally tending towards a lighter profile for this style of processing, we're ending the roast on a slightly hotter end temperature - a little more influence of the roaster in the final cup, as we can find Castillo and V. Colombia to occasionally present savory herbality at the lightest roast degrees

Best rested for: 2-3 weeks

For Filter: We’re loving 62g/L & 96°C

For Espresso: 18g, 42g, 28-32s

We’re tasting: White chocolate, raspberry aromatics. In the cup a little hint of boozy process character but well supported by the profile. Brown sugar, ripe passionfruit and some baking spice character alongside bruised plum as it cools. Nice sweetness

Traceability:

The Story

LaReb - La Real Expedición Botánica - are a radical producer-owned export co-operative/movement. Their goal is to develop de-colonised supply chains and operate outside the typical multinational pathways of coffee, and it’s a mission that’s really resonated with us. By pooling together collective knowledge, financing, quality, export and import, LaReb members are able to define their own terms of engagement. It’s genuinely so refreshing to work with Herbert and the team, and we know we’ll only to continue to grow our purchasing relationship over the years.

CDNT emerged from eight producers in northern Tolima who chose to build their own response to falling incomes and youth migration from coffee farming. Using Herbert Peñaloza's 575 farm as their base, they've established a practical blueprint for producer-driven change: a shared quality lab, new variety trials, and an agroforestry system for soil improvement. Processing happens independently on each farm, with members directing their own production while pooling resources and expertise.

We grabbed this 3 sack lot blind having enjoyed it on the cupping table - but we were informed by Herbert that, having had issues with farm renovations, these 3 sacks represented the entirety of Edwin's 2024 production. 

Farm renovation — stumping old trees or replanting with new varieties — is essential for long-term productivity, but it creates a risk exposure if anything goes wrong; and will always reduce yields before they recover with larger amounts. Edwin's three-bag harvest is a testament to this.
As roasters, we're comfortably detached, insulated, and oft blithy naive to these pressures - We can extend our buying to further producers when the volume isn't there, but for Edwin, that renovation gamble played out across his entire crop's income.