Colombia, La Ilusion, Roseval Ortiz, Natural Process

This coffee probably has the to power to transport you to a crowded family farm stand somewhere just outside of town. When you open the bag of fresh beans, you'll know what I mean. You see a dozen jars of jam lined up near the cash register containing unknown berry varieties and have to try them all. One tastes like a blackberry, but not the ones from the supermarket-maybe it's one of those wild berries plucked from just off the path.

Oh, I almost forgot about the dark chocolate flavors. If you find yourself with a stash of dark chocolate bars hidden in a strategic kitchen cupboard location, this coffee might just find a special place in your coffee heart.

Coffee Review, 92 Points, Evaluated as Espresso

Blind assessment: Evaluated as espresso. Richly fruit-toned, balanced. Blackberry, baker's chocolate, hazelnut butter, honey, oak in aroma and small cup. Satiny-smooth mouthfeel; crisp, resonant finish. In cappuccino-scaled milk, chocolate tones are foregrounded, supported by berry and hazelnut.

The bottom line: A fruit-driven natural-processed espresso from Colombia, particularly inviting in milk

The Story

Finding something remarkably unique in a prolific coffee producing country like Colombia can sometimes be difficult. This wonderful natural process coffee is grown on a 6 acre plot on the small called Finca La Ilusion. While very common in other producing countries like Ethiopia, the "natural" coffee processing method, whereby coffee seed is allowed to dry in the fruit, was pretty much prohibited from being exported from Colombia until around 2016. Roseval Ortiz Escarpeta took a risk on this method with such a high quality coffee and it paid off tremendously well. While we certainly hope and expect to see more of this in Colombia, the fact that a natural process coffee from Colombia hit our high quality threshold so quickly in the new export market makes this one even more incredible.