With this selection, our recent Colombian offerings have now run a bit of the gamut in character. While our initial crop from Piendamo was a study in crisp acidity and the following year’s harvest was the epitome of balance, Veredas Vecinas completes the journey on that spectrum with a cup that brings a surprisingly big body for a washed coffee, soft textures, and rounded mouthfeel.

Coffee cherries for Veredas Vecinas are collected from small farms at altitudes reaching 6500 feet in neighboring villages (veredas) around Inza, Cauca. Samples from each farm are cupped and those that meet certain criteria are selected for inclusion in this blend of local village lots. For processing, these lots are small enough that farmers use traditional hand-crank depulpers or ones with very small motors, wash and ferment in a single tank, and finally dry the beans in covered drying rooms called, "parabolicos.”

The result is a coffee that feels like comfort food in a cup.  The dry aroma smelled of caramel and once poured the wet aroma brought orange zest, milk chocolate, and cookie. The first sip reveals its distinguishing characteristic—a soft, round fullness that our lead roaster aptly described as a “pillowy.”  Confectionary and vanilla aromas combine with a buttery mouthfeel like a cross between Nilla wafer and butter cookie. The creaminess of the cup holds just enough of the orange found in the dry aroma to conjure creamsicle. Finally, a long finish brings a cashew-like nuttiness recessive throughout the cup into sharper focus at the end.

Farm:  multiple smallholder

Region:  Inza, Cauca

Elevation:  5000 – 6500 feet

Process:  washed, covered sun-dried

Tasting Notes:  creamsicle, nilla wafer, cashew