Golden Hour from the Canadian roaster September Coffee offers everything we love about modern Colombian coffees—plenty of sweetness, tropical fruit, and a flavor that gradually unfolds in the cup. Right from the first sip, notes of ripe peach and pineapple emerge, accompanied by a delicate creaminess reminiscent of a fruit smoothie or juicy peach candies. As it cools, lychee and other exotic fruits become more pronounced, while the sweetness remains present from start to finish. Although this is a highly processed coffee, it doesn’t come across as overpowering or cloying. On the contrary, it retains a pleasant clarity and lightness that make it a joy to discover layer after layer of flavors. The body is smooth and creamy, and the finish is long and almost dessert-like. It’s a cup that will captivate lovers of experimental coffees, but it’s also perfect for anyone who simply wants to brew something truly delicious for a leisurely morning.
Behind Golden Hour is Alex Bermudez and his family from the legendary El Paraiso farm in Colombia’s Cauca region. When it comes to innovations in processing in the world of specialty coffee, the name Bermudez comes up very often. The family has long been dedicated to research on fermentation and is among the pioneers of methods that today inspire producers around the world. At the farm, located at an elevation of around 1,930 meters, they combine traditional farming expertise with near-laboratory precision and are constantly seeking new ways to unlock the full potential of each variety. Every step, from harvest to final drying, is carefully monitored and evaluated—whether it involves temperature, fermentation duration, or working with microorganisms. In recent years, Finca El Paraiso has built a reputation as one of the most progressive coffee farms in Colombia, and Golden Hour is a beautiful example of why its coffee has gained so many fans among roasters and specialty coffee enthusiasts worldwide.
The Castillo variety is often associated primarily with hardiness and stable yields, but at Finca El Paraiso, it reveals a completely different side. Thanks to the careful selection of ripe cherries and the processing methods used, it offers a surprisingly complex and distinctive flavor profile. It is precisely with lots like this that we see the final flavor is determined not only by the variety itself, but also by how it is processed after harvest. Golden Hour undergoes anaerobic fermentation in a controlled environment where temperature, pH, and other parameters are carefully monitored. The processing also involves the use of culture media made from coffee pulp and mucilage, which help develop aromatic compounds and shift the resulting profile toward more pronounced sweetness and fruitiness. This is followed by the thermal shock method, which involves working with varying temperatures to preserve as many of the flavors developed during fermentation as possible. Despite all the work that goes into this coffee, Golden Hour doesn’t feel like an experiment. At its core, it’s still coffee that tastes great and demonstrates the fascinating results that can be achieved today by combining a high-quality terroir, a good variety, and thoughtful processing.