Colombia Urrao Valle de Penderisco

The uniqueness of the Valle de Penderisco, Antioquia is apparent as soon as you crest the surrounding hillside, and begin your descent. For one, the valley as well as the road that travels through it is completely flat...and straight. On most of the other roads in Colombia, including this one from Medellín all the way to Urrao, you rarely see more than 1/8 of a mile of straight away. Tightly-wound curves wrap the hillsides making the most stable stomachs slowly edge toward queazy. So this valley is a welcome sight, and a one that is quite high at 1800 meters on the valley floor. It is also unique because cold water springs and cool temperatures make for slightly longer fermentation times (around 24 hours), resulting in fruit-forward characteristics that we generally think to be atypical for Colombia. The profiles are bit "exotic", tropical and fresh fruits, but remain very sweet and without the wine-like characteristics that accompany over-fermented coffees. On the contrary, these coffees from Urrao have big sweetness, are "clean", and with just enough acidity to prop up the sometimes fruit-focused cup profiles. This coffee is the result of an effort spearheaded by our intermediary in Medellin, who have been working with a 20 member farmer group in Urrao. They coordinate deliveries every 3rd week during peak harvests, making on the spot selections as well as paying out premiums same day. Rains persist throughout the year seeing coffee on the trees every 3 weeks or so. Because of this, like Inzá on the opposite side of the country, Urrao has two "peak" harvests instead of the common "main" and then the much smaller "fly" crops.

Juicy fruits, red apple and pear, shifting to blackberry and tamarindo as it cools. Deeper roasts pull out dark chocolate bar richness, and fruited undercurrent. Bodied cup, great as espresso.