Colombia La Esperanza Rafael Alfonso Mateus: Sample Coffee Roasters

Colombia
La Esperanza
Rafael Alfonso Mateus

La Esperanza (The Hope) is a beautiful Colombian coffee from the Huila region, not just for its cupping qualities but also for its significance. Rafael’s farm’s name represents the hope you must never forget when working together as a family to achieve a mutual goal.

Washed process Bourbon, Caturra

Flavour: poached pear, white wine

Body: Acidity:

Roast: omni (filter + espresso)

In fact, Rafael learned everything about harvesting and processing from his parents and grandparents, who also worked on this land. Aside from coffee, he cultivates other crops and even has a small fish farm. More than a business, is his way of living.

This coffee is a washed process with a mix of Caturra and Bourbon varietals. Its outstanding flavour is not only the product of hard work; according to Rafael, the “varying altitudes and good soils and a favourable climate [is what] makes this farm special.”

His current focus is on improving his post-harvest processing through building better infrastructure and experimentation. However, he admits this is somewhat a never-ending goal, as his approach is constantly evolving with the times.

Sourcing and ingredients

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

Country grade: Unknown ?

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: Rafael Alfonso Mateus
Country: Colombia
Region: Palestina, Huila
Altitude: 1700m above sea level
Varietals: Bourbon, Caturra
Process: Washed
Harvested: November 2021
Body: Medium
Acidity: Balanced
Tasting notes: Poached pear, white wine
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Varietals

Bourbon varietal

A natural mutation of the Typica varietal, Bourbon is named after Reunion Island (then known as Il Bourbon) where the French cultivated the Typica plants which naturally mutated.

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 Huila region of Colombia

This region boasts the perfect combination of high quality soil and geography and is quickly becoming one of the largest coffee producing regions in Colombia. One of the best regarded regions for high quality, fruit driven coffee.

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.