Colombia - Cherry Punch

TASTING NOTES

Strawberry, cherry liqueur, dark chocolate

WHY WE LOVE IT

Cherry Punch is a complex yet playful coffee — it reminds us of the classic heart-shaped candy.

It has a sweet, silky structure, with a juicy strawberry base that brings freshness and vibrancy. As the cup opens up, notes of cherry liqueur emerge, accompanied by a dark chocolate finish that adds depth and rounds out the profile.

An easy-to-love coffee, made for those who enjoy expressive and distinctive cups with plenty of character.

STORY

Cherry Punch brings together two farms from Huila that, although shaped by different histories, share the same sensitivity and approach to coffee: Finca La Cabaña and Finca La Rosi. We have worked with coffees from both farms before, and they consistently stand out for producing coffees with a strong identity, layered complexity, and plenty of character.

Finca La Cabaña is located in the district of Bruselas, in Pitalito — a high-mountain region where sunny days and cool nights allow the cherries to ripen slowly, resulting in coffees with high sugar concentration and well-defined aromatic profiles. The farm’s story began around 1965, when the Ortiz family’s grandfather planted the first coffee plots. Since then, it has passed from one generation to the next, until William Ortiz and his brother decided to rethink its direction: they trained in cupping, invested in exotic varieties, and developed a more precise approach to cultivation.

William grew up among coffee trees and shaped his working philosophy through observation and experimentation. Over time, he began exploring more controlled fermentation methods to highlight the unique characteristics of high-altitude coffee. Today, more than 90% of the farm is dedicated to varieties with outstanding sensory potential, and his work has been consistently recognised among the finalists of the Cup of Excellence Colombia.

The other lot comes from Finca La Rosi, in Alto Villa, La Plata, Huila, where Tatiana Pete works alongside her family on the five hectares that once belonged to her grandparents. Tatiana grew up surrounded by coffee, and after finishing school she made an uncommon decision for someone her age: to dedicate herself fully to coffee farming as her own life project. At 18, she began training in cupping and lot analysis, which allowed her to connect the work in the field with the final result in the cup.

Her curiosity led her to explore controlled fermentations and fruit infusions — in this case, with cherry — developing expressive profiles that respect the coffee’s foundation while enhancing its full potential.

Two farms, two generations, one cup with a lot to tell.

VARIETAL AND PROCESS

Cherry Punch brings together two Pink Bourbon lots from Huila, each processed in a very different way, creating the blend’s layered complexity.

The first 80% is a natural Pink Bourbon from Finca La Cabaña. The cherries are picked fully ripe, floated, and undergo a double anaerobic fermentation: first, 24 hours in 50 kg sealed bags with the whole cherries intact; then, after depulping, a further 48-hour fermentation. Following a light wash, the coffee is dried in a covered patio for 20 days.

The remaining 20% is a cherry co-fermented Pink Bourbon from Finca La Rosi (Alto Villa, La Plata, 1,700 masl). The process begins by activating natural microorganisms through the anaerobic fermentation of cherry pulp for 48 hours. Once the ripe coffee cherries have been floated and depulped, they are combined with this fermented juice in sealed tanks, where pH and temperature are carefully monitored for another 48 hours. After a single rinse, the coffee is dried in a covered patio for 15 days.

The fact that both lots share the same variety — Pink Bourbon — gives the blend a coherent foundation, allowing the two processing methods to build clearly differentiated layers of flavour on top of it.

RECIPE

We use 20 grams of ground coffee and 340 grams of final water at 93 ºC. We perform three pours. The first is 54 grams, we wait 45 seconds, and then perform two pours of 143 grams for a total time of 2’25”