Colombian Catiope – Elkin Guzman – Hydro Honey – Archived

Taste: Because this bean is only harvested in the early morning hours, the sugars are believed to be concentrated and provide a sweeter, fuller body and taste, enhancing the natural chocolate and almond flavors.

Roast:  “Slow” is the key word to remember when roasting Honey or Natural processed beans to preserve the sweetness and full body.  When yellowing begins, the sugars, acids and proteins begin to caramelize.  Extending this process until first crack enhances this special bean’s best characteristics.  We think stopping the roast at the moment second crack begins yields the best cup.

About: Elkin Guzman is a young and pioneering coffee producer in Colombia. Hailing from Pitalito, Huila, he is extremely intelligent and curious, using new technology and techniques in a constant effort to improve quality across the board—not simply in the cup, but also in terms of yield, cultivation, and efficiency in production. Elkin’s attention to detail and capacity to buck convention has set him apart from other producers, and he is a leader among his community as well as a standout among Colombian growers in general.

Elkin and his mother tend to Finca El Mirador in Pitalito, where they grow a range of coffee varieties and have done extensive experimentation with processing: Elkin believes in using technology to collect and track data such as the optimum point of ripeness in the coffee cherry for harvesting. He uses a Brix meter to determine when the fruit is ready for picking, and prefers the harvest to happen at 23–25° Brix. He has decided that picking should only be done in the morning hours, as the coffee plants are not as stressed as in the afternoons and evenings. He believes this concentrates the sugar development in the cherry.

For the Natural-Hydro-Honey lots, the coffee is sorted after picking and dried as Naturals on raised beds for 8 days. The dried cherries are then rehydrated in fresh water for a period of 18–24 hours before being depulped through a traditional machine. The coffee is then dried on raised beds as a Honey process, with its mucilage still intact, for an additional 25–30 days. This innovative processing technique was developed specifically by Elkin after he watched a YouTube video of a discussion about processing practices by Brazil’s Dr. Flávio Borém, proving the significance of both cross-origin inspiration and of the impact that communication technology has on the future of specialty coffee.

Elkin is one of the most promising producers we have encountered, and one of the most passionate: He aims to continue growing, learning, and improving both quality and output, and he is undoubtedly one to watch from this famous coffee-producing country.

*Microlot Coffee Offerings are sourced from innovative producers in innovative ways, from super high-end limited-edition Aces lots to cupping competitions and auction lots, to variety-specific separations and those coffees that are traceable down to an individual producer. Farmers are paid quality premiums for any microlot coffee, which reflects the extra planning, effort, labor, and attention to detail required to produce them, as well as rewarding the ultimate job well done.

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