Name: Edwin Enrique Noreña Pink Bourbon
Region: Quindio Department, Colombia
Notes: watermelon gose, anise, passion fruit, passion flower

Producer: Edwin Enrique Noreña
Farm: Finca Campo Hermoso
Processing: Black Honey (carbonic maceration, co-fermented with mixed berries and passion fruit )
Varieties: Pink Bourbon
Altitude: 1,800 MASL

Brew Ratios: For pourovers, try a 1:14 coffee-to-water ratio. Start with a 1:2.2 ratio for espresso. 195 f water.

More: 
We're back at it with our Select Reserves of coffee from this expert in coffee and fermentation. This is one of many coffees we cupped at Finca Campo Hermoso alongside Edwin Noreña and his team. This coffee stood out in a sea of ridiculously stellar coffees.  The first thing you will notice about this coffee is the aromatics. It fills the room and it lingers for a long time. It smells pink, floral, and vibrant. The flavor notes we tasted were watermelon gose, anise, passion fruit, and passion flower. 

It’s a unique flavor profile, and that flavor profile is emphasized by the unique processing method that Edwin Noreña employs. For this coffee, Noreña went with a black honey processing approach to this pink bourbon variety, which is grown in Huila, Colombia at 1,800 meters above sea level, and processed in Quindio at 1,600 MASL using Cervisiae dvsa yeast in the pink bourbon mosto along with mixed berries (predominantly blackberry) and passion fruit. 

More detail on the processing method:

This Pink Bourbon variety coffee travels from Huila to Armenia in hermetic bags starting an initial 60-hour fermentation process. When it arrives to Finca Campo Hermoso, the mosto from that fermentation is collected and mixed with Cerevisiae DVSA yeast for 48 hours. While the mosto is resting and preparing to be reintroduced to the cherries, the cherries are de-pulped to a black honey level and left to macerate in low-oxygen tanks. Once the 48 hours are done, Noreña adds the prepared mosto along with a mixture of cut fruit (predominantly blackberry and passion fruit) to the tank for another 48 hours. In the last 24 hours dehydrated versions of the same fruits are added to the tank. The resulting coffee is then dried and prepared for export. The results are: watermelon gose, anise, passion fruit, passion flower.

Edwin Noreña is a consummate professional. He is 3rd generation coffee producer, a trained agronomist, a certified Q-grader, and a sought-after Cup of Excellence judge.

Quality and repeatability are key. He’s developing these processes based on research, science, and art to provide a jaw-dropping, defect-free cup. We hope you enjoy this one of a kind coffee with a special someone.

Bags are 10 oz. Jars are 100 grams

Blind Assessment

Flavor-laden, aromatically exuberant. Passionfruit, elderberry, lemon-thyme, pomelo, cocoa nib in aroma and cup. Juicy-bright acidity; very full, syrupy mouthfeel. Tropical finish with fruit and sweet herb notes front and center.

Notes

Produced by Edwin Enrique Noreña of Finca Campo Hermoso, entirely of the Pink Bourbon variety of Arabica, and processed by carbonic maceration (which involves fermenting the whole fruit in a sealed container that has been flushed with CO2) and co-fermented with mixed berries and passionfruit, and dried with most of the fruit flesh remaining on the beans. Little Waves Coffee is a Latina-owned, women-forward company that provides livable wages for its diverse team. Visit www.littlewaves.coffee for more information.

Bottom Line

This balanced, fruit-forward cup, processed by carbonic maceration and co-fermented with berries and passionfruit, does precisely what it is trying to do — it amplifies the inherent elegance of Pink Bourbon with high-acid fruits for a uniquely composed profile.