Derrumbo Honey

ORIGIN: Colombia

REGION: La Union

ALTITUDE: 1800 masl

VARIETAL: Caturra, Castillo, Colombia

PROCESS: Yellow Honey 

TASTING NOTES: Caramel, Orange & Lime 

We’re delighted to share this coffee from our good friends Esperanza and Mauro Reyes, who help coordinate the journey of coffee from Nariño all the way to Ireland. They are part of the Reyes Burbano family from a small community in La Unión, where coffee farming is deeply rooted in everyday life.

We were especially impressed when we visited El Derrumbo farm last year, where Esperanza and Mauro have been placing a strong focus on careful fermentation and experimenting with different processing methods.

This particular lot we are launching now is produced using a Yellow Honey process. There are several different honey processes from white honey to black honey named according to how much of the sticky mucilage is left on the coffee bean after it has been depulped. Yellow honey processed coffees retain a moderate amount of mucilage, and this layer of sugars contributes additional sweetness and a rounder texture in the cup.

For this lot, Esperanza and Mauro carefully selected only ripe cherries, which were then placed into sealed tanks for 72 hours of anaerobic fermentation in cherry. During this stage the coffee ferments without oxygen, allowing yeasts and bacteria to slowly break down the fruit’s natural sugars and create more complex aromatic compounds.

After fermentation, the cherries are depulped, and the coffee undergoes a further 24 hours of fermentation with the mucilage still intact, reinforcing the honey-style character of the process.

To summarise, this yellow honey coffee is partly washed but dried with some natural sugars from the fruit still attached, giving it extra sweetness and complexity, which is reflected in the tasting notes of El Derrumbo Honey of caramel, orange, and lime.