Origin: Colombia - Pitalito, Acevedo. Exactly here
Process: natural
Altitude: 1700-1900 m above sea level.
Varietal: Bourbon Sidra
Producer: Wilder Lasso
Harvest: 2025
Tasting notes
Plum jam, cherry syrup, cacao nibs
Why we like it
El Rubí is a coffee we love for its well-measured intensity and the way it combines ripe fruit, sweetness, and depth. In the cup, clear notes of plum jam and black cherry appear, with a base of cacao nibs that adds structure and balance.
It has a high, lively and juicy acidity that supports the fruity profile without becoming aggressive, along with a medium body that makes the cup smooth and very enjoyable to drink.
The sweetness is high, rounded and persistent, present from the first sip to the finish. It’s an expressive coffee with plenty of character, yet clean and well defined, offering a complex but easy-to-enjoy cup for those who seek fruity, deep coffees with personality.
History
This coffee comes from Finca El Rubí, located in the village of San Adolfo, within the municipality of Acevedo in southern Huila, Colombia. The area is especially known for its microclimate, with ideal conditions for developing complex coffees: elevations around 1,700 meters above sea level, stable temperatures, and a strong influence from the surrounding mountains that encourage slow cherry maturation and highly expressive cup profiles.
The name of the farm is no coincidence. “El Rubí” refers to the resemblance of ripe coffee cherries to the precious stone, an image that perfectly reflects the project’s philosophy: producing distinctive coffees, handled with great care and a very clear identity. The farm began with around 6 hectares and has gradually expanded over time to reach approximately 20 productive hectares.
Behind this project is Wilder Lasso, a producer widely recognized in the Colombian specialty coffee scene for his experimental mindset and deep understanding of fermentation processes. At El Rubí, Wilder has made a strong commitment to cultivating exotic varieties, which now represent around 80% of the farm. Varieties such as Pink Bourbon, Java, Sidra, SL28 and other experimental cultivars coexist with smaller plots of more traditional varieties, intended for higher-volume production.
Wilder’s main focus is not quantity, but flavor expression. His work centers on understanding how each variety and each process influences the cup, aiming to produce coffees that stand out for their character, sweetness, and complexity, while maintaining a high level of consistency year after year.
Varietal and process
This lot corresponds to the Sidra Bourbon variety, a rare hybrid that combines Bourbon genetics with Ethiopian varieties. Sidra is known for its ability to develop highly complex aromatic profiles, with intense fruit expression, bright acidity, and a silky texture when handled correctly. It is a demanding variety both in the field and during processing, but it delivers exceptional results when managed with precision.
The coffee is processed as a controlled natural, designed to enhance sweetness and aromatic intensity while maintaining clarity in the cup. Harvesting is carried out exclusively at peak ripeness. After picking, the cherries are sorted in water to remove defective or low-density fruit.
The coffee is then placed in 50-kilo bags for approximately 36 hours of anaerobic fermentation. This oxygen-free stage allows for a very controlled enzymatic development. It is followed by an oxidation phase of around 40 hours in open tanks, where oxygen exposure and a slight temperature increase further refine the sensory profile.
After this mixed fermentation, the coffee is immersed in water at 32 °C and subjected to a thermal shock at 65 °C for 30 minutes, a precise technique that helps fix the aromatic compounds developed during fermentation. Drying begins in a greenhouse, with gradual moisture reduction, and is completed in a dehumidifying machine until optimal moisture content is reached.
The result is a coffee with pronounced sweetness, clean and vibrant acidity, and a medium body. It shows a well-defined structure and deep fruit expression, with notes of plum jam, black cherry, and cacao nibs. A coffee that clearly reflects the combination of variety, origin, and an exceptionally careful processing approach.
Recipe
We use 20 grams of ground coffee and 340 grams of water at 93°C. We make three pours. The first is 54 grams, we wait 45 seconds, and then make two more pours of 143 grams each, for a total time of 2'25".
