COLOMBIA COE #6 LA GUACA WASHED

The Aji varietal is similar to the famed Gesha, with soft, fruity notes and delicate complexity. Colombia La Guaca is a vibrant light roast with a silky body, and clean flavors of bright melon, blackberry, and pomegranate. Rich notes of cacao nib and vanilla add a warm depth of flavor while the light, powdered sugar sweetness anchors it all together. The finish is reminiscent of dark fruit juice, with syrupy notes of plum and cherry. Think sweet red wine, syrupy fruit juice, cherry pie-filling: this one’s got them all beat!

La Guaca comes to you from Jose Herman Salazar, a specialty coffee grower since 2001. While harvesting coffee on this 6-hectare farm, Jose noticed a spicy, red pepper fragrance coming from a small lot. This piqued his curiosity and, after separating it from the rest of the harvest, he submitted it to this year's Cup of Excellence. Scientific testing has since found La Guaca to be unlike any Colombian coffee, matching most closely with the famed Ethiopian Gesha.

Cup of Excellence is the “Oscars of Coffee”, a non-profit with a mission to discover the very best small coffee farmers and reward them for their efforts. As Bean Box’s coffee curator, I’m proud to be an international juror for Cup of Excellence, and I’m excited to bring coffees like this into the United States — and into the kitchens of coffee lovers like you.

The icing on the cake? We partnered with Velton's Coffee to roast Colombia La Guaca. Velton is no stranger to high-end coffees like La Guaca, and brings a deft hand to this limited release. Most notably, Velton roasted the first-place coffee that the 2018 US Barista Champion competed with! Velton applied a similar roasting technique, coaxing out the inherent flavors of this bean without overstepping the roast profile.

We have less than 150 bags of the exquisite Colombia La Guaca, a cup of fresh melon, cacao nib, and sweet, dark fruits that mesmerized this year's jury and beat out thousands of coffees in the Cup of Excellence. In addition to this coffee, we’re including the Tasting Guide to Coffee Quality: a small, 32-page, whimsically illustrated, pocket guide to deepen your understanding of the world’s favorite drink! Order your own bag today, for yourself or someone you love — don’t miss this rare, amazing opportunity to enjoy the ultimate in award-winning coffee luxury.