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Luis Edgar Camacho
Luis Edgar Camacho was introduced to LaREB by our long term partner Lizardo Herrera. Luis also grows coffee near Palestina, in the Huila region. He has been working in coffee for many years, and has been part of the strong drive for quality and experimentation in Huila over the past 10 years. Luis grows Geisha, Pink Bourbon, Caturra and Bourbon Fragrancia, and has experimented with processing over the past few years. Luis’ mother also has some larger plots where she grows Pink Bourbon and varietal Colombia, which Luis helps her to process and sell to larger exporting companies.
'Bourbon'
Luis’ flagship coffees come from his own farm, and LaREB have been very impressed by his professionalism over the past few seasons. The portfolio of samples he delivers each year are carefully organised, with lots of detailed processing information available. This collaboration has been fruitful, Luis and LaREB have been honing in on the profiles that work best, working towards a selection for each coming harvest.
The lots we have selected for this year are of the Pink Bourbon and Bourbon Fragrancia varietals. Both of these varietals have become more popular in Colombia in recent years due to their distinctive flavour profiles. Both are known as Bourbons, but have recently been discovered to contain very little Bourbon genetic material, and are actually far closer to many Ethiopian heirloom varietals. The route Pink Bourbon took to Colombia, and whether it was deliberately or naturally crossed into their current state, is currently unknown. Fragrancia, however, is a sibling of Sidra and Typica Mejorado, originating from Nestle’s experimental farm in Ecuador. Both varietals are known to be heavily aromatic, especially in the case of Pink Bourbon, and deeply sweet, especially in the case of Bourbon Fragrancia.
For this Bourbon Fragrancia lot, ripe cherries are first fermented in open tanks for 24 hours, before being rinsed and fermented again in sealed tanks for 48 hours. The cherries are then de-pulped before a final fermentation in sealed tanks for 96 hours. Water is added to this final fermentation, slowing the temperature rise for a slow and controlled fermentation. After these three stages of fermentation, the parchment coffee is washed thoroughly and dried in solar driers over 20 to 25 days. This results in a clean yet full expression of Bourbon Fragrancia, with the emphasis on the inherent sweetness of the varietal, here underpinning notes of ripe dark berries.
Huila
Luis grows coffee near the town of Palestina in southern Huila, one of the most renowned growing regions in Colombia. Huila’s volcanic soils, undisturbed by the intensive agriculture seen further north, are full of nutrition, and alongside high altitude, lead to excellent conditions for producing high quality coffees. We also see a great number of driven and agile small farmers here, many of whom have family history in coffee, but haven’t necessarily been working on the same large industrialized farms for generations, like we see in more established coffee regions. This leads to a willingness to experiment, to innovate, and create lots that fulfill ever changing needs in the speciality coffee market. One example of this is Pink Bourbon, said to be a natural mutation discovered in Huila, an exotic varietal that exhibits crisp and clean aromatic character, often with floral and tropical elements.
