Lemongrass, green apple, and flowers. Silky Way sounds like a trip into space, but in your cup, it takes you more like to a blooming garden where someone has just sliced up a pile of crisp apples. This Colombian coffee from DAK Coffee Roasters is fresh, light, and beautifully clean, yet it certainly doesn’t lack a distinctive character. The first sip captivates with a sparkling citrus acidity reminiscent of lemongrass, which is gradually complemented by the juiciness of a green apple and a delicate floral aroma. As it cools, the individual flavors become even more distinct, and the coffee takes on an almost lemonade-like quality. The result is an elegant pour-over that feels light and airy, but is by no means unremarkable.
Behind this floral journey is Colombian producer Jhoan Vergara, who grew the coffee on his family’s farm, Finca Las Flores, in the Acevedo area of the Huila region. The coffee trees here grow at an elevation of approximately 1,750 meters, and this particular lot consists of the Pink Bourbon variety. Finca Las Flores has belonged to the Vergara family since 1990, and today Jhoan, together with his brothers, continues his parents’ work while also taking coffee cultivation and processing in a much more experimental direction. Pink Bourbon is known for its delicate, floral, and fresh character, which comes through in a very clean and precise way in Silky Way.
The coffee underwent anaerobic washed processing, in which fermentation takes place in an environment with limited oxygen access. This process helps develop more pronounced aromas and a more complex flavor, while the subsequent removal of the pulp and washing of the beans preserves the purity of the resulting profile. Thanks to this, Silky Way doesn’t come across as heavy or overly fermented. Instead of wild sweetness, it offers clearly discernible layers of lemongrass, green apple, and flowers. It’s a coffee for anyone who enjoys fresh and elegant pour-over coffees that resemble fruity lemonade while retaining their delicacy. And also for those who would rather imagine a journey across the Milky Way with a V60 in hand.