Leonid Ramirez (Colombia)

A welcome addition for summer, this offering features the Tabi variety’s hallmark juiciness, making it one of my favorites! Intense, syrupy-sweet notes of papaya, molasses, and Rainier cherry call to mind fruit punch on a blissful summer day.

This coffee comes from the Cortera de Hierro farm, located 1,900 meters above sea level in Genova, Quindio, Colombia. Leonid Ramirez began working in coffee as a picker at a young age, and his interest in coffee continued to grow. As a high schooler, he began to dream of owning a farm. At the age of 25, he purchased his current farm with personal savings and help from family. An initial step in rejuvenating the farm involved removing invasive eucalyptus trees, which helped renew the health of existing coffee trees. Although it took a few difficult years at the beginning for positive results to emerge, he found success through some coffee auction entries.

13 years after he purchased Cortera de Hierro (in 2016), he began a partnership with Cofinet, the exporter who brought this coffee to the US. They offered guidance and technical support with experimental fermentation techniques. This microlot is 100% Tabi variety, a genetic hybrid of Timor, Bourbon, and Typica varieties. It was processed using the honey processing method – first, coffee cherries are depulped, then the exposed fruit mucilage (or coffee fruit pulp) is dried on the cherry for 35 hours until it reaches a moisture level of 10%. Honey processed coffees do not use actual bee honey in the processing. Its name comes from the Spanish word for honey, miel, inspired by the honey-like, sticky sweetness of coffee fruit mucilage. This method typically yields coffees with a heavier body (mouthfeel) than washed coffees.