Colombia
Marco Fidel Rodriguez
Pink Bourbon

Washed process Caturra

Flavour: peach, strawberry and black tea

Body: Acidity:

Marco Fidel Rodriguez (lovingly dubbed MFR by our Sample bar crew) has been on our shelves numerous times—the first one going back to 2015. This lot is a washed process Pink Bourbon varietal, not too far off his top-rating X Grade (featured as part of our Brew Crew VS).

Finca El Balcon has breathtaking views of Pitalito and the Laboyos Valley on one side and views of lakes and waterfalls on the other. It was the property of Marco Fidel’s father, who introduced him to the craft of coffee from very early on. He is now 45 years old, and he has spent the last 14 focusing on specialty coffee.

Marco Fidel’s experience with Pink Bourbon goes back to 7 years, when he planted the first trees of this varietal; after achieving good results, he went for a second batch and now this varietal makes 20% of his production (with the remainder being Caturra).

While Pink Bourbon brings some charming premiums and rewards, its harvest can be quite challenging. The fruits can over-ripen very quickly compared to other varietals, so workers need maximum attention, experience and focus when picking the cherries. In addition, the trees’ yield is not very high compared to others—but fortunately, they enjoy a high resilience against leaf rust.

Marco Fidel works with his wife, Ruth, and his 2 sons on the farm. He takes care of his coffee trees and is in charge of managing the workers. The post-harvest process is carried out by the whole family. Ruth also manages another project, growing a number of different plants and flowers for consumption and decoration, and it would be well worth the visit just to see this. Just like Reuben did back in 2015!

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Certifications: UTZ, Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, PECA

All the images and information about this coffee and producers have been kindly shared by its importer, Caravela Coffee, and edited by us, Sample Coffee (unless linked to or credited otherwise).

Learn everything about this coffee:

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: Marco Fidel Rodriguez
Country: Colombia
Region: Filo De Chillurco, Huila
Variety: Caturra
Process: washed
Importer: Caravela
Body: Medium
Acidity: Medium
Tasting notes: Peach, strawberry and black tea
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Variety

Caturra variety

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.