Luis Anibal, Colombia — May 2024

MAY SUBSCRIPTION

Hello,

I hope this email finds you well! Here we have another delicious coffee from Colombia:

Luis Anibal, Colombia (Papayo)

For this month, we wanted to highlight a varietal called Papayo. This relatively new varietal was first thought to be a mutation between Maragogipe (a very large bean) and Caturra. This was probably because of how closely the shape and size of the bean resembled the Pacamara varietal, also a mutation, but one between Pacas and Maragogipe.

We are now led to believe it is more closely linked to Ethiopian Landrace varieties (also known as Heirloom), which means it has a close genetic resemblance to coffee native to Ethiopia. This research was done by World Coffee Research.

This micro-lot from Luis is a great way to experience Papayo because he has a very good grasp of the necessary processing styles for such varietals, and also has a very clean standardisation of his practices. He has a great following around the world for his large range of more exotic and rare varietals. Keep an eye out for his coffees — Luis Anibal Calderon.

The Papayo varietal has a beautiful tropical acidity with a great balance between the acidity and the sweetness levels, making it a coffee with very high palatability (the desire to consume large amounts)! There is also some desirable herbal tea qualities, which adds to its complexity of flavour. We love the unique profile and the challenge of roasting a bean with a different anatomy. It gives us a great chance to give our roasting philosophy a workout, and also discover the potential for new insights.

I hope you thoroughly enjoyed this new Papayo variety. I am sure we will find more great examples of it over the coming seasons, definitely a unique coffee to keep track of!

Kindest regards,
Ben