Our September Coffee of the Month is a sweet, vibrant coffee from the Tabaquillo farm in the department of Cauca, Colombia. This complex coffee is full and rich on the palate with a balanced acidity and medium body. The front of the cup is sweet with a touch of bitterness, highlighted by notes of semi-sweet chocolate, vanilla, and subtle notes of roasted peanut. Once you get to the middle, it is sweet all the way to the finish. Sweet citrus notes of tangerine juice appear in the middle of the cup and meld with sweet chocolate and vanilla notes into the lingering finish.

We also tried this coffee as a single-origin espresso and it was excellent! We are really excited about this one, it is one of our favorite Coffee of the Month offerings we have had this year. 

Roast Color: Medium-Dark

Cupping Notes: Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Tangerine Juice, Vanilla

About the coffee of the month: We feature a new coffee every month. This allows us to explore more of the world of coffee outside of our normal offerings. It is available this month only, while supplies last. 

Story: Coffee cultivation from small family owned farms is the backbone of production in Colombia.  Banexport, a Colombian export company, works directly with many of these producers who have a shared commitment for exquisite coffee processing, and loving care for their farms and the environment. This particular lot comes from an individual producer named Carmen Alicia Valencia Ruiz, who has a 4-acre farm called Tabaquillo located near the community of Palmichar in the municipality of Tambo within the department of Cauca.

With guidance from Banexport, Carmen Alicia follows a strict post-harvest protocol using her own micro-mill, which allows for consistent processing.  Carmen Alicia focuses on selective picking, then floats the cherries to remove damaged and underdeveloped beans. Next, she takes the added step of macerating the cherry for 12 hours in sealed bags before depulping and fermenting for 24 hours.  After fermenting, the seeds are washed and placed on raised beds to dry to 11 percent moisture over a period of 10 days. After processing, Banexport provides crucial logistical support for things like warehousing and milling coffee for export to the international market, which provides better income for Carmen Alicia to reinvest in her farm and strengthen her family's livelihood.