Nicaragua El Buey Pink Bourbon

This coffee is another from La Bastilla Estate, a 300 hectare plantation in the highlands of Jinotega. A little over half of the estate is currently in production, average altitude is 1250 meters. Situated in-between nature reserves, La Bastilla benefits from the shade from the natural forest. They obtained RFA certification over a decade ago, and the abundance of trees on the farm provide ample shade canopy for the coffee to slowly mature beneath (there's a great photo of the natural shade canopy in our image gallery). The estate is split into 18 individual plots, this being from the plot El Buey ("the Ox"). They put a lot of effort into separating lots instead of blending together, as blending can lower the overall quality, mixing good with bad. A great thing for lot selection on our end too. This is also a "Pink Bourbon" cultivar separation. I use quotes here, because the origins of this pinkish-orange variety are still a bit of a mystery. Initially touted to be a natural cross of Red and Yellow Bourbon, recent genetic studies of organic material from this plant has linked it to Ethiopian landrace - that is, an heirloom variety endemic to Ethiopia. That might explain the nuanced cup flavors that are sometimes found in this variety. But until there's conclusive scientific validation, we'll continue using the "Pink Bourbon" name, even if it might not actually be Bourbon.