Grand Cru: Colombia Washed Pink Bourbon

Adrian and his brother Nestor manage Finca El Diviso, a 16 hectare family farm, 1,750 metres above sea level in the Bruselas area of Huila. The brothers cultivate Pink Bourbons, an extraordinary coffee reputed to be indistinguishable from Ethiopian Landrace coffees. Huila is famous for its Pink Bourbons but their origin turns out to be the stuff of myths.

The Origin of Bourbon Coffee

All Bourbon coffees can trace their origin back the French territory of Reunion Island off Madagascar, a mere spec in the vast Indian Ocean. In the late 1800s, when the island was still called Bourbon Island, Red and later Yellow Bourbon coffees found their way from here to Brazil and from there up to Colombia.

The Pink Bourbon Myth

It is a commonly held misconception that the Pink Bourbons are a natural hybridised cross of Red and Yellow Bourbons. Perhaps because the true story is slightly less romantic. The pinks are a rust resistant strain that appeared on the farm of Gabriel Castano Buendia from San Augustin, Hulia in 1983 when the majority of Colombian Bourbon crops were being decimated by Leaf Rust. Gabriel freely shared the seeds of the Pink Bourbon strain with local farmers and became known as The Godfather of Pink Bourbon coffee.

The Extraction of the Extraordinary Flavours

The Pinks are, nonetheless, highly prized for their complex taste profiles that combines creaminess, lactic notes with an exceptional depth of flavour. But it is not just the coffee that is extraordinary. The processing methodology Adrian has used is itself a stroke of genius. The exotic flavour of the coffee is enhanced by fermentation, a technique that is gaining in popularity so that is not new. But during fermentation the coffee is ‘quenched’, it is plunged alternatively into hot and cold water for 30 minutes to open the pores in the bean and to fixate the volatile aromatic and flavour molecules. It’s like taking a sauna and a cold plunge pool, but for coffee.

Locking in the Flavour

Drying is the final stage where flavour can be lost, The Lasso’s ‘Pristine’ dry the coffee in a hermetically sealed stainless steel humidifier for 40 hours until a moisture content of 11% is reached. Once locked in the coffee remains for a further week of stabilisation.

Savour one of the World’s Best

Time consuming and complex, but absolutely worth it. Now we invite you to savour this medium to bold coffee of delightful fruity acidity. It exudes notes of sweet lychee, tropical fruit, subtle floral, and brown sugar, finishing with a wicked caramel aftertaste. Experience a Lasso Pink Bourbon, a true Grand Cru.