Colombia - Potosi - CGLE-17 Honey

If you like your coffee out of the ordinary, chances are you'll love this Colombian coffee, with its complex and surprising aromatic profile. It is immediately reminiscent of certain aged rums (Venezuela, Guatemala), raisins and ripe pineapple. There are also lighter notes of cotton candy, toffee, strawberry ice cream and Kalamata olives.
 
The high, lively acidity harmonizes admirably with this dense, rich aromatic palette.
 
What's more, this coffee extracts very easily, delivering richly flavored cups in all circumstances. Espresso extractions produce cups with a remarkable texture and length on the palate, and generally accentuate the "funky" side of this coffee (the alcoholic and ripe fruit notes associated with post-harvest fermentation). Combined with milk, the resulting beverages are true desserts!
 
Region: Valle del Cauca
Producer: Potosi (Café Granja La Esperanza)
Elevation: 1890 m
Variety: CGLE-17 (a hybrid of Geisha and Caturra)
Harvest: February 2023
Process: Honey: The cherries were fermented for about 2 days, after that were depulped and fermented in mucilage for 1 day. After the fermentation process, the coffee was dried for 20 days.
 
CGLE HYBRID 2017
 
This variety was created from a crossing experiment between selected Caturras and Ethiopian varieties (in this case, Geisha).
 
The main objectives were to increase the resistance to coffee rust and the adaptability to dry seasons.
 
Research began in 2011 with an initial selection of Caturras, planted on the Potosi farm; the hybrid result of this selection was planted in the field in 2014.
 
Three years later, the first harvested cherries were processed, and the cup result initially lacked complexity. Beyond a good cup, the team was looking for a difference in tree physiology, yields and so on. Once this second phase was completed, the final cross was made using the Geisha variety, selected from the Cerro Azul farm.
 
The first lot of this new hybrid was planted in 2017 in one of the highest areas of the Potosi farm (1890 m altitude). 642 trees were planted.
 
Some physical characteristics of the trees:
Stature: dwarf / compact
Leaf-tip color: green
Bean size: large and fine (similar to Geisha).
Yield potential: high. 3.5 kg fresh cherries per tree
The distance between the ground and the first branches is about 50 cm (much greater than for other varieties).