Colombia Jhonatan Gasca Pink Bourbon Washed

Jhonatan Gasca is a third-generation coffee producer from Bruselas, Huila, and one of the driving forces behind Zarza Coffee, his family’s multigenerational farming project. Raised among coffee trees, Jhonatan initially left the region to pursue football before returning home and studying ecological agricultural production. He began applying that knowledge across the family farms, shifting the focus from conventional volume-led production toward careful agronomy, environmental responsibility and distinctive specialty coffees. Working alongside his brother Johan and the wider Gasca family, Jhonatan oversees farming and post-harvest practices with a strong emphasis on traceability, selective harvesting and process control. At Bella Vista, their high-altitude farm between 1,750 and 1,800 metres above sea level, he combines traditional knowledge with a precise, contemporary approach, producing coffees that clearly reflect both the character of southern Huila and the continued evolution of his family’s work.

WASHED PROCESS
Jhonatan’s classic washed process begins with selective hand harvesting, with only fully ripe Pink Bourbon cherries picked to ensure consistency, sweetness and even fermentation. Soon after harvest, the cherries are pulped to remove the outer fruit, leaving the parchment coffee coated in its natural mucilage. The coffee is then placed into a controlled wet fermentation, where naturally occurring microorganisms gradually break down the remaining mucilage. Rather than using an intensive or highly manipulated fermentation, this traditional approach is carefully monitored to preserve clarity, softness and the intrinsic character of the variety.

Once fermentation is complete, the parchment is thoroughly washed with clean water to remove any remaining fruit material before being slowly dried on raised beds or patios. The coffee is turned regularly to promote even drying and prevent unwanted fermentation, continuing until it reaches a stable moisture content of approximately 10–11%. It is then rested under controlled conditions before milling, allowing moisture and flavour to stabilise throughout the seed. The result is a precise, transparent process designed to showcase Bella Vista’s high-altitude growing conditions, the character of Pink Bourbon and the care taken at every stage of production.

Pink Bourbon, known in Colombia as Bourbon Rosado, is distinguished by cherries that ripen to a pink or salmon hue. Once believed to be a natural crossing of Red and Yellow Bourbon, genetic testing suggests that at least some plants identified as Pink Bourbon are more closely related to Ethiopian landrace coffees. The variety has become particularly celebrated in southern Colombia, where careful cultivation at high elevations can produce coffees of remarkable elegance, sweetness and clarity.

FILTER BREW RECIPE

Coffee: 15g
Water: 255g
Ratio: 1:17
Temperature: 93°C
Grind: Medium
Total brew time: 2:45–3:15

METHOD

Rinse the filter and add the ground coffee.
Pour 50g of water and bloom for 45 seconds.
Slowly pour to 150g.
At 1:15, pour to a total of 255g.
Gently swirl and allow the brew to draw down completely.