Colombia Luz Helena Rose Tea Honey - Filter Roast

COUNTRY - Colombia
FARM - Maracay
REGION - Armenia, Quindio
ALTITUDE - 1500 M.A.S.L
VARIETAL - Pink Bourbon
PROCESSING METHOD - Co-Ferment Honey

LUZ HELENA SALAZAR
Luz Helena grew up in Armenia and has been producing coffee for the last 20 years. She owns Maracay, an 8-hectare farm located at 1450 m.a.s.l, in Armenia Quindio. Luz is Carlos and Felipe’s mother, and wife of Jairo Arcila.
Luz’s passion for coffee was inspired by her husband’s work on coffee farms and as a dry mill manager. Luz would hear Jairo talking about coffee and wanted to be more involved in the industry. With the support of Jairo, Luz started learning how to care for coffee plants and what steps she needed to take to produce high-quality, ripe cherries. Luz found dealing with insects very challenging at the start and would draw on Jairo’s knowledge to help with this.
For several years now, her focus has been on producing Specialty Coffee. With the support of Cofinet, Luz has been able to improve farm practices and focus on producing the best cherries she can. Once ripe, the cherries are then processed by Cofinet at their processing station, La Pradera.

CO - FERMENTED HONEY
When the coffee cherries reach the peak of ripeness, they are hand picked. The coffee in then exposed to a dry anaerobic fermentation period of 72 hours with the pulp on ( oxygen free environment with no added water). During this fermentation stage, smashed roses were added. The cherries were then pulped and placed to dry on
raised beds until ideal moisture content was achieved.
The cup is incredibly floral, and the Pink Bourbon varietal really helps to shine in this process.

PINK BOURBON
Pink Bourbon is a rare and coveted find. A hybrid of Red and Yellow Bourbon, this varietal stands out in every way, from the striking pink colour of its ripe coffee cherries to the sweetly complex flavor of its beans. Even in ideal growing conditions, Pink Bourbon is challenging to cultivate.
It has recently been identified to be closely linked to Ethiopian heirlooms as opposed to more common Colombian varietals