Origin: Colombia
Farm: Bella Vista
Varietal: Tabi
Altitude: 1540 MASL
Certification: Micro-Lot
Process: 2x Stage, Anaerobic Thermal Shock
Cup Score: 86.5
Rosemary, Cherry & Rhubarb
This wonderful Tabi has undergone 2x Stages of anaerobic fermentation which creates a really interesting and distinct profile of herbs, like sage and rosemary, whilst retaining the sweetness and tart of the Tabi varietal without the usual heavy booze of extended fermentations.
Processing
Step 1. Manual collection of 90% mature grain
Step 2. Cherry oxidation in plastic bag (Anaerobic) for 3-4 days
Step 3. Dry pulping with little water
Step 4. Fermentation in a plastic bag (Anaerobic) for 3 days
Step 5. Medium wash with hot water (Thermal Shock) to remove mucilago.
Step 6. Dry in the sun for 7-10 days, removed 3-4 times a day with little shade.
Farm
Bella Vista is the name of Jhonatan’s farm, which translates to “great view”. It is located in the region with the highest coffee production in Colombia, Pitalito, within the department of Huila in Southern Colombia. Colombia is such a large producer of coffee that there are harvests virtually all year round because of the varied micro-climates across each region.
The farm is 6 ½ hectares in size, and the coffee is grown under the shade of walnut trees, cedar and guayacan native to the area.
Producer
Jhonatan Gasca, is a young traditional coffee farmer “I was born in a coffee plantation” says Jhonatan… “My grandparents and my parents were always dedicated to coffee farming and although I must thank them for this passion, the truth is that they planted, harvested and sold coffee to those who paid the most, they were dedicated to producing quantity, but not quality, this was the way to have a permanent economic income”.
Jhonatan took the opportunity to study and he applied to be a technologist in ecological agricultural and livestock production, knowing that with this he would have more possibilities on the farm.
By 2008, the subject of specialised coffee was something new, and together with his uncle and brother, Jhonatan began planting speciality coffee, the first of which was a Honey, he enthusiastically took it to the SKM cooperative, which was where they paid him the best, but unfortunately, they rejected it because of the appearance of the coffee and he was very frustrated since his family did not share his same belief in the potential of quality coffee.
Determined, he continues to experiment and learn. Luckily he has a great example in The Lasso family, friends well known for their excellent specialty coffees, who have become motivation to Jhonatan to achieve a high level in coffee.
Jhonatan is proud to continue his family tradition, and show the world the product that has given him everything in life, coffee.
Varietal:
The name Tabi means “good” in the Guambiano (a native Colombian tribe) dialect.
This coffee displays the positive cup qualities of its Bourbon, Typica and Timor parents, while being more resistant to leaf rust.
Tabi is a relatively new varietal, only released in 2002, by Cenicafe, Colombia’s research centre who are responsible for developing the now widely used Castillo variety too.
Characteristically Tabi’s have tall trees that thrive in areas with direct sunlight and less rainfall. The cherries are uniquely picked when semi-ripe in order to avoid too much oxidation which would result in an overly fermented profile