Colombia
Oscar Bolaños

Honey process Tabi

Flavour: passionfruit, pineapple, sultana sweetness

Body: Acidity:

We’re sharing something a little different with this coffee from Colombia – actually, a few different things (it’s the first honey-processed Tabi varietal in Australia, too!)

Let’s start with Tabi, the varietal: it’s the first time we’ve featured this hybrid, which was released in 2002 as past of Colombia’s ongoing fight against the coffee leaf rust disease. It was created by crossing the Typica, Bourbon and Timor Hybrid varietals.

The name comes from the Guambiano dialect, translating as ‘good.’

Secondly, you might have noticed this coffee is honey processed: also something unusual in our usual deliveries. Most of the coffee we share is washed process, where all the flesh of the coffee cherry is removed by a depulping machine. The coffee is then fermented, washed and dried.

Honey process is where the pulping machine only removes a percentage of the flesh. The coffee is then dried with some of the flesh remaining, which means the sugars in the flesh are then present in the coffee. This coffee’s page on the website has photos and more on honey process.

We tend to showcase washed coffees because we think it highlights the unique characteristics of each coffee, and has a cleaner cup profile, but when we tasted this coffee we loved it, and wanted to share it with you.

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: Oscar Bolaños
Country: Colombia
Region: Piendamo, Cauca
Altitude: 1700 - 1750m above sea level
Variety: Tabi
Process: honey
Harvested: August 2017
Importer: Cofinet
Body: Medium
Acidity: Balanced
Tasting notes: Passionfruit, pineapple, sultana sweetness
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Variety

Tabi variety

Released in 2002 as part of Colombia’s efforts to combat leaf rust, it is a hybrid of bourbon, typica and timor.

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 Cauca region of Colombia

Attractive growing conditions afforded by its altitude, proximity to the equator and the protection afforded by surrounding mountains, enabling a stable microclimate year round. Cauca is a region also known for its World Heritage listed national parks, wildlife, and life-giving water sources

Farm processes

Honey process

This technique leaves some flesh on the coffee cherry as it is washed and dried. This tends to give a slightly sweeter flavour, but can also reduce the quality and longevity of the coffee due to the fermentation of the sugars in the flesh.