Roaster's Comment:
This is our first time trying coffees from Luz Helena Salazar. After tasting all three, we really fell in love with the delicate, expressive flavours she brings out. This Caturra Natural is the boldest of the three, with a little more intensity and attitude.
We’re excited for this one to set the tone for our upcoming Luz Helena coffees.
About Luz Helena:
If you know Colombian specialty coffee, you've probably heard the name Jairo Arcila before. But this September, we're putting the spotlight on someone else: Luz Helena Salazar. She is the Producer. Farmer. Mother. Wife. And, apparently, the woman responsible for bringing some seriously good coffee into the Arcila family.
Luz has been producing coffee for around 20 years, from her 8-hectare farm Maracay in Armenia, Quindío. She began her coffee journey through her husband Jairo, learning the realities of farming from the ground up, including in the early days plenty of battles with insects.
Today, she produces coffees with a character all her own.
About the Coffee:
- The Variety That Once Dominated Colombia
Caturra is one of Colombia's most historically important coffee varieties. A natural dwarf mutation of Red Bourbon first discovered in Brazil, it once accounted for almost half of Colombia's coffee production before rust-resistant varieties like Castillo took its place.
- 45 Hours to Unlock the Fruit
For this lot, Caturra gets a more modern treatment. Only fully ripe cherries are selected at La Pradera, then hand-sorted, floated and fermented aerobically for 45 hours. After 8-12 days of controlled drying on raised beds, the result is intensely fruity, deeply sweet and complex, with a full, structured body.
