LaREB

When selecting our first few subscriptions for our new US roastery, we involved our long term partners from the LaREB collective. They saved and shipped coffees to Bushwick, specifically for our first US-exclusive Rituals selection. This month, you can enjoy two lots from our partner Yoiner Mosquera, a crisp, floral and delicate washed Geisha, and a soft, aromatic and tropical Pink Bourbon.

This month’s subscription focuses on one of our longest relationships, with the LaREB collective in Pereira, Colombia. We first met members of LaREB in 2016, as the early movements of the project were beginning to take shape, and we’ve worked together since. Members of the collective make up some of our most memorable Colombian experiences each year, including Lizardo Herrera, the Sanchez-Mosquera family and El Bocadillo, just to name a few.

At such a big milestone for us in opening our US roastery, we involved our long term partners from LaREB when selecting our first few subscription selections. They saved and shipped coffees from the collective to Bushwick specifically for our first US-exclusive Rituals selection. This month, you can enjoy two coffees from our partner Yoiner Mosquera, with two different varietals communicating their unique character in the cup.

Yoiner Mosquera

This is the second time we have worked with Yoiner Mosquera, on his farm just outside Palestina, a major centre for coffee growing in the southern Huila region. However, we have worked with his family for many years, having previously purchased coffee from his mother, Durley Sánchez, and his two uncles Rigoberto and Orlando, all of whom are part of the LaREB collective. The family’s history in coffee starts with Yoiner’s grandfather, who was originally from the Cundinamarca region, but moved to the town of Caicedonia in Valle del Cauca after getting married. He eventually settled in Palestina, Huila, and began growing coffee here in 1949. Since then, the family has become rather successful in coffee, especially Orlando. He has his own farm now, leaving the original Sanchez lands to his sisters Durley and Marisela, and brother Rigoberto.

The Sánchez family are still highly respected in the community of Palestina, and in the wider speciality coffee movement in Huila, one that has gained great momentum over the past decade or so. Due to this, they are very sought after coffee growers, but choose to work with LaREB as their goals align; a genuine and passionate drive to preserve coffee growing communities across Colombia, and help them to prosper. Yoiner is in his early 40’s, rather young for a coffee producer in Colombia, part of the new generation driving the family business forward, tightening connections with LaREB and doubling down the focus on quality. We are excited to see how the project progresses, working together with our partners from LaREB to continue to produce and export excellent coffee from Palestina.

This month, you can enjoy two lots from our partner Yoiner Mosquera, a crisp, floral and delicate washed Geisha, and a soft, aromatic and tropical Pink Bourbon.

The Sánchez family have long been a driving force in speciality coffee in Huila, adopting new varietals like Pink Bourbon and Geisha in order to improve their quality and income. The washed process used here is also a Colombian tradition, de-pulped, fermented for approximately 24 hours, washed, then dried on raised beds.

Here we find a clean and crisp Geisha profile, with complex floral aromatics followed by a very crisp citrus acidity and a soft tea-like body.

Washed Geisha

The process used here is the same, so the differences in the cup are purely down to the varietal. Here we find an excellent example of the Pink Bourbon profile; florals in the aroma, but softer than in the Geisha, backed up by fresh tropical and currant notes in the cup, rounded off by a rich and syrupy body.

Washed Pink Bourbon

We hope you enjoy these excellent coffees this month. Opening this roastery has been a long time coming for the La Cabra team, something we have dreamed of and worked hard for over the past few years. We truly appreciate the opportunity to share coffees from some of our closest partners with a new and growing audience, more directly than ever before. Thank you for being a part of these early stages of our US adventure, and welcome to our journey through the seasons of coffee.