Colombia ROSE TEA from the Berkeley-based roastery Hydrangea is a true celebration of elegance and floral delicacy. From the very first whiff of the cup, you’ll be enchanted by the intense, heady aroma of rose tea and fresh rose petals, which blend seamlessly with the deeper, refined notes of oolong tea. On the palate, an incredibly clean and juicy flavor of sweet cantaloupe unfolds, lending the entire composition freshness and a playful fruitiness. All of this is complemented by a velvety, creamy body with a delicate, slightly milky acidity that highlights the coffee’s complex sweetness and leaves a long, exceptionally elegant aftertaste. It’s the ideal choice for anyone seeking lightness, purity, and an unforgettable floral profile in their cup.
Behind this exceptional lot stands the iconic Bermúdez farming family and their world-renowned El Paraíso farm, located in the Cauca region of southwestern Colombia. The local microclimate, at an elevation of around 1 ,960 meters above sea level, with cool nights and high humidity, provides ideal conditions for the slow ripening of coffee cherries. The farm’s leading figure, Diego Samuel Bermúdez, is one of the world’s best-known pioneers of modern coffee processing. Diego has moved away from traditional, empirical methods and approaches fermentation as a precise science. He has built his own biotechnology laboratory on the farm, where, using microbiology and precise control of temperature, pressure, and pH, he creates flavor profiles that were previously unimaginable.
The beans in this coffee have undergone a fascinating and technologically advanced process based on two phases of anaerobic fermentation and a so-called “temperature shock.” Hand-picked and carefully sorted coffee cherries are first sealed in airtight tanks, where specially selected yeast cultures derived from yellow fruit are added to facilitate fermentation. During both the first and second phases of anaerobic maturation, these yeasts promote the formation of specific aromatic compounds that give the coffee its incredibly clean, sweet, and floral character. An important culmination is the final washing using the thermal shock method,in which the coffee is first briefly exposed to hot water—immediately locking the developed aromas and sugars inside the bean—and then rapidly cooled with cold water, precisely halting the fermentation process. The result is a semi-washed coffee with a clean flavor profile in which delicate notes of rose tea and exotic fruit truly shine.