Ben's Beans
This Months Featured Product
We highlight a wide variety of coffees from around the world. From Central and South America, to Africa and Indonesia, we have something for every taste preference.
For December, our Christmas Coffee selection is a Colombia Inzá Rio Páez that was roasted to Full City+ (full medium).
Colombia Inzá Rio Paez - Origin Story
Inzá is a province located in Southwestern Colombia within the greater Department of Cauca. As you make the drive from La Plata to Inzá, you follow the Rio Paez, and an eventual crossing over a suspension bridge lands you on the road to the the villages whose coffees make up this blend.
Like much of Colombia, Cauca is home to some very high altitude farms, many breaching the 2000 meter (6,500 ft) mark. This particular lot is a blend of coffees from a few of the neighboring Veredas within the region, altitudes ranging from 1500 - 2000+ meters.
Wet processing is traditional in the region, many using old-style hand cranked pulpers, fermenting and washing in the same tank and then drying out on raised, covered beds. This last part is key in facilitating even and gentle drying of the parchment, helping to keep the protective parchment layer intact as the internal moisture dips to around 11 - 12% over the course of a few days to 2 weeks (depending on the micro-climate).
Most farms have a healthy amount of Caturra planted, as well as some Timor hybrids that were heavily promoted for disease resistance.
Colombia Inzá Rio Paez Notes
The dry fragrance displays a blend of caramel and maple sweetness, cocoa, with mild notes of walnut and dried fruit. The wet aroma emits a denser sweetness of brown sugar with a molasses accent note, to my nose finding parity with freshly baked goods, like blondie bar and oatmeal cookies.
The brewed coffee offers a mix of bittersweetness and top note accents, and the unrefined sugars sensed up front are tasted in the brew of this roast particularly.
As the coffee cools off, soft shades of fruit accent the sweet and bittering coffee tones, touching on dried fruits like raisin and black currant. The underlying bittersweetness becomes more profuse with each sip, and presents a cocoa-covered walnut flavor in the aftertaste.
Philosophy
We highlight coffees from around the world that taste great and purchase only from farmers that are both paid and treated fairly.
We take great care in sourcing our coffee from ethical and sustainable farmers and cooperatives.
At Ben's Beans, we knows that coffee is a labor of love, from crop to cup.
