Bandida & Betulia

When looking for coffees to include in our “Exotic” line up, the two things we evaluate are quality (scoring 88 points or higher) and uniqueness (rare varieties, interesting processes, distinctive flavors, or producers who are pushing boundaries.) La Bandida and Betulia have met these standards with flying colors, one because of the interesting processing used and the other because of its unique variety. 

La Bandida • Colombia

Andres Guacas has applied wine science to La Bandida through the use of a yeast inoculated anaerobic fermentation. This is a Pink Bourbon variety whose name translates to “Bandit” and is one of the coffees this family has begun to produce with the mindset that commodity can be combated with quality. We are excited to see how they continue to expand aggressively in their production of exotic varieties.

Betulia • Colombia

Villa Betulia is a farm that has been built up by Luis Anibal Caldera slowly and consistently over many years. This particular coffee from him is an extremely rare, spontaneous cross between two exotic varieties; Maragogype & Geisha. Maragogype is known for its exceptionally large size, and Gesha is often considered to be the queen variety due to its unique flavor profile. Luis has used more than just a unique variety with this coffee – he has grown the only Maragogype-Gesha hybrid I've ever come across. This is a really high scoring cup, with super unique flavor profile due to a variety so unique that "unique" is wildly understated.

Also in The Tattered Journal