Colombia

Campo Hermoso

Pink Bourbon Purple Honey

Purple honey process Pink Bourbon

Flavour: chinotto, musk stick, and passionfruit

Woah there! This coffee has gone through two fermentation stages: 96h carbonic maceration + 48h anaerobic semi-washed with the addition of ‘mosto’ (a sort of coffee cherry juice that introduces extra sugars). Expect a boozy, complex, mind-boggling cup.

VERY SPECIAL

Aside from the exclusivity—it’s a tiny, delicious and high-quality Pink Bourbon lot— this coffee is a VS contender because it features a futuristic fermentation process, inspired by the winemaking industry: Purple Honey. Let’s learn more about it.

PURPLE HONEY PROCESS

1. Harvest and screening

The coffee cherries are harvested when they’re at the perfect ripe point—in this case, this is measured, so their sugar concentrations should go beyond 24°Bx.

°Bx, Degrees Brix or, more commonly, Brix is a measure of the dissolved solids in a liquid. It is commonly used in the wine, sugar, carbonated beverage, fruit juice, fresh produce, maple syrup and honey industries to measure the dissolved sugar content of an aqueous solution. For example, 1°Bx (or 1 Brix) is 1g of sucrose in 100g solution.

2. Initial 96h carbonic maceration.

The perfectly ripe cherries are soaked in water for 5 hours before undergoing an initial 12h carbonic maceration (also known as anaerobic natural fermentation with intact cherries—not crushed).

3. Partial depulping and secondary 48h anaerobic fermentation with mosto.

After this initial fermentation, the cherries are partially wet-milled (de-pulped), leaving ~75% of their mucilage, and put into a second 48h anaerobic fermentation mixed with ‘mosto’. This most is recirculated every 8 hours.

‘Mosto’ is a term taken from the winemaking industry, the English translation is ‘must’. It refers to the mix of crushed cherry pulp and juices—in this case, this mix is a concentrate of crushed cherry pulp made with cherries from other lots of the same variety.

The ‘mosto’ juice introduces additional sugars to the fermentation process, resulting in a larger amount of acids and/or alcohol to be broken down. (So, essentially, more fruity boozy flavours.)

This technique is sometimes also known as additive fermentation or co-fermentation. You can read a bit more about that in this Roast Magazine piece.

4. Drying.

Once this is finished, the cherries (with include partial mucilage: skin, parchment, etc.) are placed to sun-dry on African beds for 24-26 days until the humidity is down to 10.5% and then transferred inside a warehouse for 12-14 days to stabilise their humidity levels in Fique Bags.

5. Resting and packing.

Finally, the dried cherries are stored in GrainPro bags for another 8-10 days before being milled and prepared for export.

ONE SEC: WHY THE NAME ‘PURPLE HONEY’ PROCESS?

The ‘Purple’ probably comes from the colour of the beans after fermenting with their partial mucilage and mosto juice.

‘Honey’ comes from the honey process, in which the fermented cherries dry together with their partial mucilage.

A RE-CAP ABOUT ANAEROBIC PROCESS

Anaerobic means “without oxygen”. During this process, the coffee cherries ferment inside sealed vessels where the oxygen input is prevented or controlled. The low presence of this gas (it’s never really 0%, but close) limits the participation of microbes, facilitating a distinct range of bright and fruity hints. The difference between the anaerobic washed and anaerobic natural processes lies in how the cherries go into the fermenting tank.

In the anaerobic natural, the cherries are placed along with their skin and pulp—whether crushed or intact. This method is technically the same as carbonic maceration, but different importers and producers will call it differently according to their conventions.

In the anaerobic washed, the cherries are placed without their skin and pulp—the stage of removing them is commonly known as depulping.

BEAUTIFUL FIELD (CAMPO HERMOSO)

Finca Campo Hermoso is located in the Colombian department of Quindío. It’s owned and run by Edwin Noreña, a third-generation farmer, Q grader and agroindustrial engineer.

Very early on, he saw the potential of specialty coffee and transitioned his farm and system to produce into this side of the coffee market; at Finca Hermoso, they started producing high-quality and innovative lots that would later earn international recognition due to their placement in competitions.

Edwin is one of many small producers who work with the Santuario Project, which sources the most exceptional lots to market to clients who appreciate the story and effort behind them.

Learn everything about this coffee:

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Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

• Dose: 20g ground coffee
• Yield: 60g espresso
• Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

• Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
• Labels: recyclable
• Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
• Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

Learn more:
Our packaging

Producer

Edwin Noreña

Farm/Coop

Finca Campo Hermoso

Country

Colombia

Region

Quindío

Altitude

1650m above sea level

Variety

Pink Bourbon

Process

purple honey

Importer

Condesa Co.Lab

Body

Acidity

Tasting notes

Chinotto, musk stick, and passionfruit

Roast style

Omni (filter + espresso)