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This washed offering comes to us from Florinda Cifuentes, a coffee producer from Buesaco, Nariño. The sample roast was clean with crisp notes of honey, black tea, and citrus. I enjoy working with washed lots from Nariño—the quality is exceptional year after year. My initial thoughts for the production roast of this coffee were to find the right balance of heat and air to achieve a clean balanced cup. I charged off the bean probe to 386 degrees Fahrenheit with the burners set to 50%. Turning point was reached 1:30 into duration at 156 degrees. I increased the burner to 75% at 2:57 into duration. As the roast built momentum and the rate of rise increased, I adjusted air moving through the drum to 50% at 5:12. The maillard phase of the roast began 6:43 into duration at 322 degrees. Color change was smooth and uniform. At just under seven minutes, I reduced the burner to 50%. Moving closer to first crack, I lowered the burner to 30% at 8:10 into duration. I made the last heat adjustment of the roast at 9:09 by lowering the burner to 25%. The development phase of the roast began at 9:25 into duration at 390 degrees. First crack was audible and accompanied by a caramel aroma. Immediately after marking first crack, I adjusted the airflow moving through the drum to 100%. Duration of the roast was 12:36 with 3:11 of development time and an end temperature of 405 degrees Fahrenheit.

I waited two days off roast and prepared a cupping to taste the results of the production roast. On the table, the cup showed crisp, sparkling notes of pomegranate, honey, and black tea with a very sweet finish. After the cupping, I brewed up two Chemex’s with slightly different ratios. In the first one, I used a 1:17 ratio weighing out 42 grams of coffee and using 700 grams of water with a grind setting of #9 on our EK-43. The brew was balanced with integrated notes of honey and pomegranate with a sweet caramel finish. For the second Chemex, I used a 1:18 ratio weighing out 42 grams of coffee and using 756 grams of water with a grind setting of #9.5 on our EK-43. The brew was delicate and lighter than the previous with notes of honey, peach, and black tea dominating the cup. What was most impressive to me was the cleanliness and sweetness in every cup. Clean, cohesive, and sparkling notes of black tea and pomegranate with a sweet, well-rounded honey finish. Honey, Black tea, and Pomegranate