Episode 540: Colombia Finca La Chorrera Washed Caturra

Finca La Chorrera is located near to the city of Pitalito, in the south of the Huila department. It's in the valley of the Rio Grande de la Magdalena, known as 'The Valley of Laboyos', which is 180km away from Nieva, the capital of Huila. Pitalito is also the second largest city of the department of Huila, at approximately 125,000 inhabitants, and is considered one of the largest areas of coffee production in Colombia.

This farm is located on top of a mountain at 1,735 metres above sea level. It contains 70% Caturra (25,000 plants; this lot comes from them), 20% Colombia F6 (7,000 plants) and 10% Castillo (2,000 plants). The farm consists of eight hectares, six of which are planted with coffee. The other two hectares house the mill and inaccessible (but gorgeous!) mountainous areas. The family house, which is also used for drying, is at the bottom of the hill at around 1,400 metres above sea level.

I took some awesome pictures on my trip in 2013, so take a look here, and I took some more on my trip in 2014 – find them here!

The farm is owned and run by the Claros family: Pedro, his wife Nelcy and their six children (Alberio, Edilson, Sandra, Hermes, Diana and Monica). It's a real family business with everyone pitching into the farm to make it work.

The farm's drying patio is one of the most amazing things I’ve seen. It's a greenhouse built on top of the house so that the coffee can be turned regularly, but also to make sure no one steals it. The latter was not so much of a problem when coffee prices were lower, but it's a genuine problem when they're higher. Of course, Pedro doesn't have to worry about market prices; he always gets a premium because he consistently produces amazing quality coffee, but black market coffee just goes to the highest market bidder.

In the cup this is blackcurrant mashed up with tropical fruit. There's a floral edge to it too, before it finishes on lychee, but leave a delicious aftertaste of fudge.

• Country: Colombia
• Department: Huila
• Nearest town: Pitalito
• Farm: Finca La Chorrera
• Owners: Claros family
• Altitude: 1,735 m.a.s.l.
• Farm size: 8 hectares
• Coffee growing area: 6 hectares
• Varietal: Caturra
• Processing: Washed

CUPPING NOTES

Blackcurrant, tropical fruit, floral, lychee, fudge.

Clean cup: (1–8): 7
Sweetness: (1–8): 6
Acidity: (1–8): 7
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6
Flavour: (1–8): 8
Aftertaste: (1–8): 7
Balance: (1–8): 6
Overall: (1–8): 7
Correction: (+36): +36

Total: (max. 100): 90

Roast Information
Medium dark - through first and push it right to the first pops of 2nd, but don't let it get into full second crack.