Colombia

Santa Mónica

This chilli bourbon is a rare varietal grown in volcanic ash soil and processed carefully with the natural lactic method. A truly wild coffee, giving notes of papaya and banana, with maple and ripe pear acidity.

Natural Lactic process Chilli Bourbon
Flavour: papaya, maple, banana, ripe pear
Body:     Acidity:

This is the very first time we’ve ever tasted the Chilli Bourbon varietal, and we can only say… it’s TOTALLY WILD.


VERY SPECIAL

What makes this coffee very special is its crazy flavour. When we first blind-cupped this sample next to a few others, it was just so distinctive and mind-blowing, just something else. When we learnt more about it, we understood. It’s a varietal we had never even heard of, grown in volcanic ash soil and processed carefully by an experienced producer with the natural lactic method. Wild combo.


ABOUT JAIRO & SANTA MONICA

Jairo Arcila is a third-generation coffee grower from Quindio, Colombia. He is married to Luz Helena Salazar and they have two sons Carlos and Felipe, who you may already know from a previous VS feature, Jardines del Edén.

Jairo’s first job was as Mill Manager for Colombia’s second-largest coffee exporting company, where he stayed until his retirement in 2019. Even though he was working full-time, he found the time and curiosity to start a gig of his own; in 1987, he bought Finca La Esmeralda, a coffee farm where he could play and earn a bit of extra income. This effort brought some fruits, and he could save enough to buy 5 additional farms: Villarazo, Mazatlan, Santa Monica, Maracay and then Buenos Aires.

With the guidance of his sons, who co-founded the importing company Cofinet and know very well the specialty coffee. scene, he’s learnt a lot about the latest trends and best practices. This has prompted him to improve the harvest and processing procedures, and also to experiment with exotic varietals and uncommon methods.

Jairo also grows other agricultural products such as mandarin, orange, plantain, and banana. His favourite way to start the day is with a really good breakfast, even better if he’s surrounded by family. A wise man indeed.


ABOUT CHILLI BOURBON

We know very little about this rare natural hybrid. It seems like it originated as a mutation of Bourbon in the area of Acevedo, Huila. It produces distinctive spicy notes, as you will likely feel when you brew it.

Here on the Santa Monica farm, it grows on volcanic ash soil.


ABOUT THE NATURAL LACTIC PROCESS

This lot was exposed first to a dry aerobic fermentation of 24 hours (the natural part). Then, the fermented cherries were placed inside Grainpro bags for 90 hours and maintained at a temperature below 22 degrees Celsius (the lactic part). In this sealed environment, the bacteria feed on the carbohydrates and sugars found on the mucilage, leading to a high concentration of lactic acid.

Lastly, this coffee was placed on raised beds to sundry, until achieving 11% moisture content.


BREW, SHARE AND ENJOY

Time to brew and get fully into the wild! Check out any brewing notes below, or send us an email/Instagram message for tips and guidance. Enjoy, and please let us know your thoughts!

All the images and information about this coffee and producers have been kindly shared by its importer, Cofinet, 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

Variety

Chilli Bourbon variety

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.

Farm processes

Natural Lactic process

This technique leaves some flesh on the coffee cherry during processing and drying. This results in flavours which may show jammy fruit and a little winey-ness.

1 brew note from subscribers

Coffee delivery: coffee in resealable bag and farm information card

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