COLOMBIA EDWIN ZAMBRANO

TASTING NOTES: ORANGE JUICE, PINEAPPLE, STRAWBERRY, CACAO  

A 2024 Good Food Award Winner and Coffee Review High Scorer (93), this stellar, naturally processed coffee from Edwin Zambrano (pictured below, right), is a labor of love. Every year, Edwin selects the best of the year's coffee cherries to create this award-winning micro-lot. A few years ago, Edwin and his wife took over the family farm from his mother, Dońa Nohora (pictured below, left). However, attention to detail as well as pursuit of excellence are clearly shared values between mother to son. 

To amplify their natural sweetness and intensify their fruitiness, Edwin immerses the coffee cherries in water tanks for over 60 hours. They are then sun-dried on raised beds for 45 days until they are absolutely perfect. 

All that attention to detail cultivates a coffee teeming with juicy orange, sweet pineapple, fresh strawberry, and dark chocolate notes. It also reflects the fruit of working with diligence and patience—both of which naturally processed coffees require plenty of in order to have exceptional results.

Sourced Through Azahar Coffee 

Finca Buenavista is part of the Azahar Coffee family of coffee farms, an organization working throughout Colombia to bring together producers of the highest quality. Through their hard work, they are changing the landscape of Colombia by bringing necessary resources, enabling full traceability, and providing direct trade access to hundreds of farmers such as Edwin Zambrano.

COFFEE INFORMATION

Country: Colombia Region: Huila Producer: Edwin Zambrano  Altitude: 1,700 meters Varietals: Castillo, Colombia  Processing: Natural  Net Weight: 340g / 12oz

COFFEE REVIEW WRITEUP

Blind Assessment: Fruit-forward, crisply tropical. Strawberry guava, baking chocolate, lemon verbena, fresh-cut oak, brown sugar in aroma and cup. Sweet in structure with balanced, lively acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. Crisply cocoa-toned finish with undertones of lemon verbena.

Notes: Produced by Edwin Zambrano of Finca Buenavista from trees of the Castillo and Colombia varieties of Arabica, and processed by the natural method (dried in the whole fruit). Joe Bean Roasters is a specialty retail and wholesale coffee roaster based in Rochester, New York.

The Bottom Line: An inviting, cleanly fruit-toned, natural-processed Colombia cup with a crisp chocolate throughline.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

• 2024 Good Food Awards Winner

• 2022 Coffee Review: Score of 93

Produced by Edwin Zambrano in the Huila region of Colombia, this lot showcases the potential of the Castillo and Colombia varietals when cultivated at 1700 masl. Roasted by Joe Bean Coffee Roasters, the coffee undergoes a natural process, a method often associated with increased body and pronounced fruit-forward characteristics.

While natural-processed coffees frequently exhibit heavier fruit profiles and complex sweetness, this specific selection highlights a vibrant interplay of citrus and berry notes, balanced by a grounding cacao finish. To better understand how these specific descriptors align with broader industry standards, enthusiasts can reference the flavor wheel. By focusing on the intersection of regional terroir and careful post-harvest handling, this offering provides a clear look at the distinct profile achievable through Zambrano’s meticulous approach to production in one of Colombia’s most renowned coffee-growing landscapes.