March 2024 - Back to the Fundamentals

March 2024’s Coffee Origin
Colombia Huila Santa Maria - Excelso

COLOMBIA - HUILA SANTA MARIA - EXCELSO
Region: Huila, Colombia
Varietals: Caturra, Castillo
Growing Elevation: 4290-5250+ feet
Harvest: June through August
Process: Washed and Mechanically Dried
Flavour Profile and Notes: GO CUP YOURSELF and find out!

This Month's Coffee Selection
It's time we Cupped a fully washed, mechanically dried "no nonsense" coffee. 
This month's coffee comes from Santa Maria, Colombia, a town located in Northern Huila. Just like this coffee's production, we don't have a ton of flowery descriptors and experimental processing notes. At our shop we often use Colombian origins as the work horse, base note of our blends. Our Colombian selections are high quality, full bodied and consistently delicious. If you're hoping to taste a summer's breeze or field of elder berries with lemon zest, look elsewhere. If your want an amazing, get the job done, no excuses, morning cup of coffee, Colombian origins are often the direction to look.

The more observant of our Cuppers may notice the Castillo varietal in this month's coffee. The Castillo in this offering was part of our reasoning for selecting this origin. Castillo is a hybrid of Caturra and Timor Hybrid. It was bred for its resistance to coffee rust (a disease that can devastate coffee plants) and high crop yields, while maintaining much of the quality of the Caturra (which we have Cupped many examples of).  Castillo's characteristics have seen it overtake Typica and Bourbon in Colombia's coffee harvest over the past decade. It may be a safe bet that we will see more Castillo varietals or similar disease resistance and climate adaptable options, ensuring that we can continue to enjoy the drink we have all come to love!

Roaster’s Notes:
This coffee roasts like a washed Colombian origin! I mean exactly as you'd expect, decent initial charge, smooth even roast with a loud popping into first crack, followed by a sizzling/hissing into second crack.  These hearty origins are a pleasure to roast and a great place to start for amateur or novice roasters. They can take the heat and are usually quite forgiving. They also taste great as a dark roast if you've gone a little too far into second crack and just want to even out the roast.

As has become the norm, we've roasted this month's coffee to a medium, creating a smooth, balance cup while preserving and highlighting some of the tasting notes found in this coffee. Let's see if the new varietal affects the profile and tasting notes. 

While cupping this month you wouldn't be wrong if you started with "it just tastes like great coffee" but look for hints of citrus followed by …wait a minute, if you want cupping notes Go Cup Yourself!

Once you have finished Cupping, click on the “EXPERT TASTED” tab for our tasting notes. Can’t wait to compare notes.

As always, we'd love to hear from you. Better yet, tell the world what you think. If you've been enjoying the Go Cup Yourself experience, please take a moment to review us on Facebook, Google, Yelp, Reddit, a bathroom stall door or anywhere you get your reviews.