Colombia

Norbey Quimbayo

Pink Bourbon

Washed + Dry Anaerobic process Pink Bourbon
Flavour: strawberry, sherbet, passiona
Body:     Acidity:

This coffee was produced by Norbey Quimbayo and his wife on their farm, La Esmeralda, in Colombia’s Huila district. It’s all tropical fruit and sherbet and we’re loving it here at the roastery.

Norbey’s farm is in Acevedo, Huila, under an hour away from Pitalito where microlots from across Huila are collected for milling.

Huila boasts the perfect combination of high quality soil and geography to produce high quality, fruit-driven fruits like the coffees we feature here at Sample. It’s quickly becoming one of the largest coffee-producing regions in Colombia.

About Norbey and his family business

Norbey inherited his father’s farm about 25 years ago. During the first years, they had a smooth time producing “commodity” quality coffee, but after the crisis and price drop in 2006 the profits started being compromised.

Because of this, he enrolled in the Colombia Coffee School, where he learned about different strategies to elevate the quality of his coffee and therefore higher revenue and a worthwhile income.

The Pink Bourbon varietal

This Pink Bourbon is harvested following a strict ripeness criteria, and cherries are later floated and hand sorted. The coffee is then exposed to a dry fermentation of 20 hours with the pulp on afterwards pulped and fermented for 20 hours without water, then washed, and dried on raised beds to an ideal moisture content.

The Dry Anaerobic process

This method is borrowed from winemaking. The washed (de-pulped) coffee fruits are placed into a sealed tank in which the atmosphere is pre-filled with CO2 gas. Here, the cherries ferment without the help of any yeasts or oxygen, in this case for 27 hours. Norbey finishes the process by slowly sun-drying the coffee beans in raised beds to their ideal moisture content.

The dry anaerobic process is known for boosting tropical, sweet flavours. In addition to the very high altitude conditions (1700+ above sea level, meaning slower-growing cherries), make for a fine, complex cup that makes us dream of passion fruit and sweet lollies.

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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.


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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.


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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.


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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

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Our packaging

Variety

Pink Bourbon variety

Pink Bourbon is an Ethiopian Heirloom variety (or subvariety)—though, until very recently (~2023), it was thought to be a rare and spontaneous hybrid/mutation of Red and Yellow Bourbon.

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 + Dry Anaerobic 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.

Coffee delivery: coffee in resealable bag and farm information card

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