Colombian Organic | March 2022

Introducing our March Bean of the Month - Colombian Organic!

Our March Bean of the Month has been grown and harvested in one of the best and most prolific arabica coffee growing nations in the world. Colombia is blessed with a landscape which could have been designed for the coffee tree: rich soil from the old volcanoes covers the cloud-skimming mountains, and the warm days which give the sunshine for growth subside into cool nights which allow the cherries holding the beans to sweeten and develop their flavours. 

Soil and altitude count for a lot in coffee, but they aren't everything. It’s the people of Colombia who have invested their time and effort over generations to refine and improve the cultivation and processing of coffee through stringent controls and testing.

Excelso is a grade of coffee. Grading is a process whereby dried, unroasted beans are filtered through a set of sieves which are called “screens”. Each screen has holes punched through the metal and it is the size of the hole which gives the grade. 

The size decreases by 1/64 inch through each screen, and to be graded “Excelso” the beans must settle at a minimum of screen 14 - each bean must be at least 14/64 of an inch in size, or about 5.5mm in the metric system. This is just one of the tests each bean must pass in order to receive the stamp of “Excelso” and “Colombia” - there are tests for hardness, moisture content and cleanliness before they can be sent out into the world. 

Excelso is stamped on the hessian of many coffee bags in the Merlo warehouse, invariably found adjacent to the word “Colombia” and sometimes alongside labels for ports and farmers, importers and graders - all the hands these green seeds we call coffee beans have passed through on the way to our roaster.

Once roasted, our March Bean of the Month reveals a warm caramel and chocolate aroma, which deepens into sweet butterscotch and hazelnut flavours, before finishing with more chocolate and rich walnut. Superbly balanced in terms of body and acidity, the mouthfeel is syrupy and carries the flavours beautifully when served with milk, while being sweet and clean as a black coffee. 

We think it’s best summed up by the literal meaning of “Excelso” when translated to English from the Spanish - sublime. Boasting a cupping score of 83, our Colombian Organic is available online and instore for a limited time only – try it today while stocks last! 

Overview:

Origin: Colombia
Soil: Volcanic
Varietal: Caturra, Colombia, Tipica, Castillo
Process: Fully Washed
Altitude: 1,000 – 1,800 masl

Cupping Score: 83
Aroma: Nutty chocolate
Flavour: Butterscotch, hazelnut, caramel
Acidity: Clean, sweet citrus
Body: Syrupy and full
Aftertaste: Chocolate and walnut.
Grade: Excelso