Colombia - Laboyano

The farm

Laboyano comes from the Valley of Laboyos, the highland basin around Pitalito in the south of Huila. It is one of the most consistent washed-coffee corners of Colombia: high, wet and worked almost entirely by smallholders farming a few hectares each.

This is a community lot. Cherry from growers across Huila is kept separate by farm through picking and fermentation, then brought together at one mill, so the coffee stays traceable back to the people who grew it. The planting is the mix the region has settled on - Caturra and Pink Bourbon for the cup, Colombia and Castillo for resistance to leaf rust.

Grown between 1,600 and 1,900 metres and fully washed, it lands bright and clean: yellow plum and red currant up front, honey through the middle, citrus and a floral note on a light finish.

The process

Washed

Cherry is pulped the day it is picked, fermented in tank overnight, then washed clean in the channel and dried slowly on raised beds and parabolic domes. Taking the fruit off before drying is what keeps the cup this clear and pushes the acidity forward.