This morning we’re back to Colombia by way of Atlantic Beach, FL roaster extraordinaire, Volcanista Coffee Co. This is another Special Supply coffee that promises a lot of complexity, so let’s jump right in!
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Volcanista Coffee Co. Peru Cajamarca review
VOLCANISTA COFFEE CO. COLOMBIA FINCA EL ARBOL
This morning’s coffee from Volcanista Coffee Co. is part of their Special Supply series for this year and it comes from Finca El Arbol near Urrao, Colombia (west of Medellin and in the prime coffee growing region of Antioquia). This farm is owned by Jose Leobardo and it’s barely a hectare in area with approximately 2,000 coffee trees packed in. This farm is strictly planted with Caturra variety and he has another lot on the other side of his house where he also grows. The coffee operation is a family affair, with Jose’s sons overseeing harvesting, washing and fermentation and proper drying of parchment coffee. Cold water springs and a cool climate, as well as really high altitude, make for some really interesting coffees from this part of Colombia, and Jose’s coffee has placed very well in past Cup of Antioquia contests.[ref]http://www.coffeeshrub.com/shrub/coffee/colombia-urrao-finca-el-arbol[/ref] So, this is a washed Caturra grown in the range of 1850-2000+ meters above sea level and Volcanista gives us tasting notes of, “balanced sweetness and delicate tea like acidity, notes of plum, dates, fig and cocoa.”
I used my standard pourover setup of a 1:16 ratio of 28g of coffee to 450g of water for this coffee. My Handground grinder was set to 3 and I used Third Wave Water in a notNeutral Gino dripper. This is a delicious, sweet, sort of “dark” coffee, compared to the often “sparkling” super-bright coffees that come out of some parts of Colombia. This coffee has nice balance and the acidity is subtle, but contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the cup. I would call this mostly malic (think of the acidity in apples) acidity with some hints of orange and there’s a bit of a cola character there, too, for me. I don’t know that I would’ve come up with “tea like” on my own for this coffee, but drinking it (it’s not as blatantly obvious as the tea notes in a light, washed Yirgacheffe, for example), but drinking this coffee with that descriptor in mind, I can definitely tell where Volcanista came up with it.
As the cup cools, the acidity gets a little more pronounced and more citrus-like with that orange juice-like component coming more to the forefront. This coffee has a medium to medium-heavy body for me and a lot of “bass note” sweetness. There is some straight sugary character to the sweetness but the dark fruit descriptors of plums, figs and dates is right on. While dried versions of those fruits can be downright cloying, this coffee has that nice acidity to keep it balanced and drinkable without being a sugar bomb.
This cup finishes sweet with a really nice, lingering aftertaste that I am having trouble describing. There is a perfume-like quality in the aftertaste that, at the same time, I wouldn’t consider to be floral. I can’t really put words to it but it’s a nice surprise to this very delicious coffee. This is a clean cup with a lot of complexity and it’s still very accessible and a good drinker. I’m really digging Volcanista’s Special Supply series this year. They’re picking some complex and “different” coffees, which is really cool to see, and as always, the roasting is spectacular!