Colombia ALEJANDRA MUÑOZ from Rover Coffee Lab is a coffee that blends the sweetness of chocolate and caramel with more delicate floral notes. In the cup, you’ll find not only chocolate and caramel, but also almonds, brown sugar, and chamomile, which together create a sweet cup with low acidity. It’s exactly the kind of coffee you reach for when you’re in the mood for something gentle and relaxing.
Behind this coffee is Alejandra Muñoz, a 29-year-old producer from Bruselas-Pitalito in Colombia’s Huila region. Her path to coffee, however, took a bit of a detour. She originally trained as a carpenter and didn’t enter the world of coffee until after she met her husband, Jhonatan Gasca, an experienced coffee producer. Today, they work together on the Zarza farm, which spans 6 hectares and lies at an elevation of 1,540 meters above sea level. They grow coffee trees among native trees that provide natural shade and focus on sustainable farming practices. This lot consists of the Pink Bourbon variety, and Alejandra and Jhonatan are gradually experimenting with new ways of growing and processing it on the farm. Step by step, Alejandra is discovering the world of specialty coffee, which was completely outside her field of expertise just a few years ago.
And it is precisely this experimentation that is reflected in the processing of this lot. The coffee underwent double fermentation followed by washing. After harvest, the ripe cherries are first processed, and the beans undergo an initial fermentation. This is followed by another fermentation phase, which allows them to carefully influence the resulting flavor profile. Finally, the beans are thoroughly washed and dried. This process requires precise control at every step, and Alejandra and Jhonatan are gradually refining it on the farm. The result is a coffee that showcases just how far their work with the Pink Bourbon variety and processing methods can take them.
- Producer: Alejandra Muñoz
- Elevation: 1,540 m above sea level