Tasting Notes: Cherry Cola, Juicy Strawberry, Sweet Tarts

Process: Natural

Elevation: 1730 masl

Variety: Pink Bourbon

Producer: Rodrigo Sanchez

The Pink Bourbon varietal of coffee was a happy surprise for producer Rodrigo Sanchez. Upon initially managing his farm at Monteblanco, Rodrigo found that many of the coffee trees looked distinct from the standard trees that grew along the farm. Furthermore, they proved highly resilient to the degenerative defect in coffee called leaf rust while still offering a remarkable flavor profile mirroring notes found in Geshas: Full-bodied, floral, and incredibly juicy. Rodrigo had come across the Pink Bourbon varietal! He set these coffees apart from the rest of his harvest and has since begun to advocate for them as they’ve risen to attention in the collective mind of the coffee industry. The Pink Bourbon has shown up in some of Rodrigo’s most experimental endeavors, most notably the Cold Washed process (which can be read about here).

However, we also believe that the Pink Bourbon varietal excels even in traditional coffee processes. The Natural process is the oldest process for preparing coffee, and is typically most prominent in Ethiopia, Yemen, Brazil, and Costa Rica. Unlike washed processes, in which coffee is depulped very quickly after a post-harvest wash, the natural process bypasses a wash and a depulp, and the beans are left in their mucilage for an extended duration as the coffee cherry dries up. This allows for the natural sugars within the bean to develop a full, more diverse flavor than what a washed will normally provide.

The potential for yielding such remarkable flavors is, however, tampered by the risks that come with the natural process. As the coffee cherry remains on the seed during the drying process, it offers more chance of mold and infestation. As a result, not only is more attention required to ensure the beans’ proper drying, but the overall yield will inevitably be lower than a washed process. For that reason, natural processes are considered a risky investment to many producers.

The vibrancy of Monteblanco’s Pink Bourbon coffee is on full display through the natural process. While the floral notes are still present, what becomes most prominent are juicy fruity notes, such as strawberry. A candy-like sweetness sits on the palate as well, making for a bright coffee drinking experience. If you’ve tried our Cold-Washed coffee, which utilizes the same coffee from Monteblanco, you will be surprised at just how much flavor can be pulled from this varietal depending on the process employed. In this way, we see the processes as lights shined on coffee, granting us a glimpse at its wonderful, mysterious complexity.