Tropical Fruit, Chocolate, Dark Sugar

Variety: Colombia, Castillo, Caturra, Typica

Processing: Washed

Origin: Valle de Cauca, Colombia

Producers: El Águila Small-holders

Altitude: 1600-1900m

Nestled in the foothills below the Tatamá Nature Reserve in the far north of Colombia's Valle de Cauca department, the town of El Águila is a great place to grow coffee. The area near the nature reserve has very rich soil at relatively high altitude and is very biodiverse, making it a great place for coffee plants to thrive and produce flavorful cherries. The producers in the area are members of the ASOTATAMÁ cooperative, a group of 55 men and 20 women working together to make sure that they continue to have a minimal impact on the environment while producing exceptional and unique specialty coffees, so that the natural world around them will continue to flourish.

The coffee from El Águilar is a great representation of the local biodiversity, including several varieties such as Colombia, Castillo, Caturra, and Typica. The farmers use traditional Colombian coffee farming and processing techniques, regularly pruning their trees and harvesting only the ripest cherries by hand. The coffee cherries are fermented for about 12 - 14 hours before being washed and spread out on parchment under the sun, or in covered drying beds depending on the weather. It's a tried-and-true method for producing excellent coffee, as this lot shows. El Águilar has a strong tropical fruit flavor layered with notes of chocolate and dark sugar that make for an exquisite cup that you'll keep coming back to. Don't forget to rate and review your brews, we'd love to hear what you think of these beans!