Colombia El Meridiano: Sample Coffee Roasters

Colombia
El Meridiano
(Espresso Roast)

This lot comes from a small town called Herrera, home to more than 50 members of the Association of Specialty Coffee Growers of Alto Saldana. We find notes of malt, dark chocolate, and cookie dough.

Washed process Caturra

Flavour: red grape, orange, toffee

Body Acidity

Roast: espresso (black + milk drinks)

This lot comes from a small town called Herrera, home to more than 50 members of the Association of Specialty Coffee Growers of Alto Saldana. Their farms are small by Colombian standards – the average farm is only 4.5 hectares.

Yet they consistently achieve high cup (quality) scores, earning recognition for the flavours present in their harvest.

The proximity of this region to the equator and the wide range of microclimates create conditions that allow them to harvest almost year-round. While most coffee regions of the world have a single annual harvest, Colombia’s climate allows them a second crop each year, and in the case of Herrera, that stretches to crops through almost nine months of the year.

The Tolima department was historically difficult for coffee producers to export due to the FARC guerrilla military group. Their 50-year conflict with the Colombian government ended in 2016 with a peace accord that is still holding today, though it remains uncertain.

We hope to see peace upheld to allow the farmers and producers of Tolima easier access to the export market and, with that, the greater recognition and reward that their crops deserve.

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Caturra coffee beans, provided by Caravela and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.

Country grade: Excelso (Colombia) ?

Importer grade: A (Caravela) ?

Packaging

Bag: ABA Certified home compostable
Label: Recyclable
Valve (on bags larger than 250g): General waste
Coffee ordered online is shipped in a recyclable cardboard box

Brewing this coffee

We recommend brewing this coffee 15–49 days post-roast. If pre-ground, brew as soon as possible. Our advice on storing coffee.

1:3
dose:yield
ratio

To brew on espresso, we recommend using 20g of beans (dose) to get 60g of espresso out (yield), during 24-28 seconds.

g dose

g yield

View the how to brew espresso (single origin) guide.

1:16.7
beans:water
ratio

To brew in infusion/fed brewers (V60, Chemex) use a ratio of 1:16.7 ratio of beans:water.

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:14.3
beans:water
ratio

To brew in immersion brewers (plunger, AeroPress, Kalita, batch brewer) we recommend using a 1:14.3 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:12
beans:water
ratio

To brew as cold brew we recommend using a 1:12 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

Producer: 58 Members
Country: Colombia
Region: Tolima
Altitude: 1500-1900m above sea level
Varietals: Caturra
Process: Washed
Harvested: April 2024
Body: Medium
Acidity: Balanced
Tasting notes: Red grape, orange, toffee
Roast style: Espresso

Varietals

Caturra varietal

Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon that was originally discovered in Brazil in 1937, considered to be the first naturally occurring mutation ever discovered.

The location

Coffee from Colombia

Colombia is one of the largest coffee producers in the world and benefits greatly from having one of the most unique and complex set of micro-climates of all coffee producing nations.

The Tolima region of Colombia

The word ‘Tolima’ comes from the local indigenous language and means a “river of snow or cloud”.

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.