Espresso: Colombia Wilmer Cubillos Washed Tabi

This new Colombia coffee comes through Sucafina.  We are always on the hunt for good Colombia coffee and there is more coming up in the following months. We had Wilmers’ coffee before, but then as a Natural processed one. Tabi is a very tasty variety, with roots in Typica, Bourbon and Timor. It will give us notes of citrus fruits or lemongrass, with floral honey, berries and vanilla.

Finca El Rosal sits in El Rosario, Acevedo, Huila, at 1,650 meters above sea level across 10.5 hectares, an altitude that creates the warm days and cool nights that build dense, sweet cherry. Wilmer Cubillos purchased the farm in 2006 and lives there with his wife and youngest son, while his two older children have built their own lives and careers outside the farm. A first-generation coffee farmer, Wilmer's enthusiasm for the craft of cultivating and processing coffee is visible in every aspect of his operation. His goal is straightforward: to produce coffees with differentiated flavors that people can appreciate – and, of course, to earn a price that sustains that quality long-term. Wilmer is excited about producing specialty coffees. Wilmer’s goal is to sell his Tabi lots internationally, where they can get the attention they deserve. He believes that, with his attention and hard work, his Tabi lots will continue to embody the delicious cup profile of which Tabi is capable.

Wilmer continues to take steps to improve his coffee quality. He purchased a shaker that helps separate parchment and has lined his fermentation tanks with slab plating to ensure that no off-flavors are imbued in the coffee during fermentation. In the future, he plans to improve the quality of his drying facilities and build raised beds for further drying. Cherry is fermented for 18 hours in sacks and then pulped. Then, coffee is placed in a tank and fermented for 6 hours, and then washed in clean water. Parchment is laid to dry and raked frequently to ensure even drying.

Tabi is a cross between Typica, Bourbon and Timor that was created by CENICAFE. It was released in 2002 and combines coffee leaf rust resistance with the good cup quality of Bourbon and Typica. Similar to those two parents, Tabi is tall with long branches. However, Tabi has slightly larger fruits and seeds and can be grown at high altitudes, and in high density, with up to 3,000 trees per hectare. The name comes from the word “tabi,” meaning “good” in Guambiano, the dialect of a native Colombian tribe.