This coffee was produced by Norbey Quimbayo and his wife on their farm, La Esmeralda, in Colombia’s Huila district. It’s all tropical fruit and sherbet and we’re loving it here at the roastery.
Norbey’s farm is in Acevedo, Huila, under an hour away from Pitalito where microlots from across Huila are collected for milling.
Huila boasts the perfect combination of high quality soil and geography to produce high quality, fruit-driven fruits like the coffees we feature here at Sample. It’s quickly becoming one of the largest coffee-producing regions in Colombia.
About Norbey and his family business
Norbey inherited his father’s farm about 25 years ago. During the first years, they had a smooth time producing “commodity” quality coffee, but after the crisis and price drop in 2006 the profits started being compromised.
Because of this, he enrolled in the Colombia Coffee School, where he learned about different strategies to elevate the quality of his coffee and therefore higher revenue and a worthwhile income.
The Tabi varietal
This week you’re drinking the Tabi varietal, a relatively new coffee cultivar developed by the Colombian Federación Nacional de cafeteros, the association representing the country’s coffee growers. It was released in 2002 as part of Colombia’s efforts to combat the leaf rust disease which can decimate crops, and is a hybrid of the bourbon, typica and timor varietals.
FNC’s work developing Tabi managed to keep the positive flavour profiles of Bourbon and Typica, while Timor varietal brings resistance to leaf rust. The name Tabi means “good” in the Guambiano (a native Colombian tribe) dialect.
The Dry Anaerobic process
This method is borrowed from winemaking. The washed (de-pulped) coffee fruits are placed into a sealed tank in which the atmosphere is pre-filled with CO2 gas. Here, the cherries ferment without the help of any yeasts or oxygen, in this case for 27 hours. Norbey finishes the process by slowly sun-drying the coffee beans in raised beds to their ideal moisture content.
The dry anaerobic process is known for boosting tropical, sweet flavours. In addition to the very high altitude conditions (1700+ above sea level, meaning slower-growing cherries), make for a fine, complex cup that makes us dream of passion fruit and sweet lollies.
