Colombia - Marisela Sánchez's Rosado

Brew Guide:

Best Brewed with: Filter

With a slightly slower roast required to get even, homogenous development, we’re continuing to tease out more jammy fruit notes from this coffee while keeping it clean and light.

Best rested for: 2-3 weeks

For Filter: We’re loving 62g/L & 96°C

For Espresso: 18g, 44g, 30-34s

We’re tasting: Nice mixed berry notes - strawberry, redcurrant, & blackberry lead the classic Rosado acidity. Backing it up with some dense muscovado sweetness, brown butter, dried fruit and some intriguing spice notes (clove & cinnamon) that reminds us of rich fruitcake - very moreish and a delight to get this character at a light roast influence

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.

This is our second year of purchasing from LaReb, with this season we've expanded our purchasing to 2 additional members of the group. The Sánchez family are core members of the co-operative - Marisela, Rigoberto, Durley, and their relations are all frequent guests on some amazing roaster’s offer sheets, but it’s Marisela’s work we have chosen to showcase this season. and our first release (having purchased 2 separate lots) is from Marisela.

The Sánchez family have a small “estate” in El Portal, Palestina. This land was granted to Marisela’s parents by the Colombian government in the 1950s, and they have been growing coffee in this area for the duration. Located in Huila, this region is world renowned for the excellent coffee that it produces.

With the passing of the land to the second generation - the family have split the estate into smaller plots, each owned and managed by Marisela’s siblings and wider family, with the main processing and drying station situated at Marisela’s house. 

Marisela’s parents have deep connection to the community - her father Orlando had 2 terms as Mayor of Palestina around the turn of the millennium. As Marisela is approaching retirement age, we learned from Herbert that this year was her last year producing Rosado - she has transferred the plot this coffee was grown on to her nephew Yoiner, instead deciding to focus both on the community work she does, and for her coffee production lower yield, high value varieties. We’ve got a small second purchase from one of these plots which we’ll be releasing later in the year - and it’s a delight, as is this delish Rosado. 

The pooling of processing and quality knowledge that is key to LaReb’s on mission shows in lots like these. Well orchestrated extended fermentation steps producing very fruit-forward characteristics in the cup, without any trace of acetic-acid/funk - clean washed vibes, but with the volume turned up