Christmas time is approaching faster than any of us would care to admit. For those wondering what to get the coffee lover in their life, fear not. We at Maude have got you covered.
For the loved one who has the gear and the know-how and loves their coffee super fruity and bold, we have our second iteration of our Unparalleled series of rare, interesting and always delicious beans from around the globe, the Las Margaritas from Colombia.
The farm of origin forms part of Cafe La Granja Esperanza, an estate created 40 years ago and to this day operated by the Herrera family in the Valle del Cauca region. Their farm’s rich terroir of volcanic soil and altitudes between 1400 and 1800m has worked excellently with this bean, a Pacamara variety introduced very recently from El Salvador to Colombia by the farm. This batch from Las Margaritas is only the third harvest ever made commercially available from Colombia of this variety, with the plot itself a mere 5 years old.
The care and attention taken in their natural process for this lot is worthy of note. The Granja team wait for 240 days after flowering before harvesting, after which the women carry out a second manual grading. The coffee is then left to rest in containers for 48 hours before drying for 28 days on cement beds. The coffee is then stored for three months before export to stabilise and reduce any astringency associated with freshness. The coffee is then quality controlled initially in a lab by the farm’s own tasting panel before grading in a special machine which aids sorting and avoids overheating of the cherries. The beans are then stored in 35kg grainpro bags.
Flavourwise, this coffee has the potential to work excellently but differently across various brew methods. Fans of a fuller bodied Aeropress should expect to find some boozy pineapple flavours enhanced while pourover lovers will enjoy the clean sweet florals of jasmine and orange zest.
Ideal for wrapping, it comes in a natty little tin, much more convenient than a lumpy bag of coffee.
This coffee is a UK exclusive through ourselves, you won’t find it anywhere else this side of the Channel or the Atlantic.
