Marceli Calderón - Pacamara

Producer: Marceli Calderón -  Finca La Loma
Origin: Salado Blanco, Huila, Colombia 
Elevation: 1650 MASL
Variety: Pacamara
Process: Washed
Roast Level: Light
Importer: Yellow Rooster Coffee 
Flavor Notes: Orange Crush, Tangerine, Milk Chocolate 

This coffee is such a blast in all the ways.  From the big Pacamara beans, to the effervescent citrus soda-like qualities in the cup, Marceli's lot here is a gem.

Marceli Calderón's farm, Finca La Loma, sits at 1650 metes in Salado Blanco, in Huila, Colombia. The coffee production work is done by Marceli together with her family. They have been coffee farmers since childhood. Marceli says that what she loves most in life is being among the coffee plants, picking the coffee cherries, a task she often does alongside her husband Victor. 

The coffee is harvested and brought to their house, where it is depulped immediately. Then, it is left to ferment in a concrete tank for a period of 48 to 60 hours, during which time the coffee is periodically checked, stirred and homogenized. Once it reaches the desired level of fermentation, Marceli adds water to the coffee and washes it. This process is done using the smallest amount of water possible. Afterward, the coffee is left to rest to allow some of the water content to evaporate before it is taken to the drying area. Here, the coffee is sun-dried with very good ventilation. The process takes about 12 days, during which Marceli will check the humidity and continue homogenizing the drying coffee to ensure the process is as precise as possible. Once she visually checks the humidity, the coffee is taken to the laboratory for quality control, where it will be evaluated and given a final classification according to its quality. 

Yellow Rooster has been working with members of Marceli’s community (Salado Blanco) for three years, and is working with Marceli on her single farm, single variety import for the second time.  We are super stoked to have gotten our hands on this coffee and hope to continue working with Marceli in future harvests. 

As I said before, in the cup this coffee is a blast.  Overt sugary citrus notes that range from Orange Crush soda to tangerine juice.  Tart, sweet, effervescent qualities that are balanced out by a creamy milk chocolate note.  This cup profile is unlike most washed Pacamara's I've come across and absolutely LOVE IT.