Colombia Pitaya

Region: Palestina, Huila Altitude: 1400-1700 m.a.s.l. Variety: Pink Bourbon Processing: Washed

UK Arrival: June 2026

Tasting Notes: Bright and fruity, this Pink Bourbon is a perfectly sweet summer espresso. Expect flavours of easy-peeler orange, raspberry, white peach and macadamia, with an earl grey-like finish.

While looking for a coffee to be our main espresso for summer this delicious Pink Bourbon really stood out to us when cupping. Balanced acidity but with just enough brightness to help the natural sweetness shine; and a pink floral quality characteristic of its cultivar. Secondly this coffee comes to us through Minga, an importer we’ve grown a close relation with. Laura has even visited us here in North Berwick. She also works closely with local small holder farmers in Palestina, Huila. This coffee was created through carefully selecting and blending local lots with similar flavour profiles as opposed to the typical methods of combining lots from the same day or general quality. This coffee was made from lots that specifically reminded Laura and her team of dragonfruit. Earning it the name ‘Pitaya’, the Spanish word for dragonfruit.

Minga

This coffee was sourced and imported through Minga Coffee, a Colombia-based importer co-owned by Laura Meunier and William Ortiz Bermeo. 

We first met Laura when she worked at another importing company, Ensambles. At the time of meeting we had mainly only worked with much bigger importers. The one thing that struck us was how personable it felt. Laura came into the roastery to cup some coffees and chat with us, and she spoke all about the time she’d spent at origin, mentioning the cupping labs that they’d set up in remote areas of the region to provide access to specialty coffee for Mexican smallholders. 

Now Laura has her own importing company, Minga, and working with her continues to feel just as personable. Moreover, we’ve found that we share a lot of similar values across the board. Minga’s website says, “Our goal is to restore a thriving ecosystem where coffee can grow without agrochemicals…. We are working to rebuild biodiversity and cultivate coffee in harmony with nature”. Along with this, they’ve adopted a mantra of “back to washed”, looking more at the quality of different varieties and the potential within traditional processing methods. It’s more about appreciating different coffee varieties and the clean, bright acidity naturally present and highlighted by the washed processing method. Shifting the focus to good varieties and healthy soil will make coffee both delicious and sustainable in the long run.

Minga was the first importer we featured on our Importer Series back in November 2025. Laura was kind enough to answer some questions for us and provide more insight into what challenges a small importer faces and what she has experienced running her own farm. Follow this link to read more!

Since this interview we had the opportunity to talk with Laura and William through a video call, connecting North Berwick and Palestina to learn more about what sustainability means on opposite ends of the supply chain. We had an amazing and insightful chat about what practices they follow on their own farm, El Micelio, such as their commitment to organic agriculture, intercropping and permaculture. More than half of their 7 hectare farm is made up of native forests and they are currently working to spread the native microorganisms from the forest over to their terraced farmland to bolster the soil with nutrients, organic matter and humus. This has already brought in a range of wildlife to the farm, such as worms, beetles and spiders! Which is a great sign that the soil is healthy and full of nutrients. The coffee trees that they have planted are loving this soil and are already producing amazing coffee. We are very much looking forward to tasting future harvests from El Micelio.

Pink Bourbon

Since Pink Bourbon's appearance in 2014 in the village of San Adolfo, municipality of

Sourced from the Palestina region of Huila, this Colombia Pitaya offering from Steampunk Coffee highlights the distinct character of the Pink Bourbon varietal. Grown at elevations between 1400 and 1700 masl, this lot undergoes a washed process, a method often favored for its ability to emphasize a coffee's inherent acidity and clean, crisp profile. While Colombia · Palestina, Huila is renowned for its diverse microclimates, the specific combination of terroir and processing here results in a cup defined by bright citrus and stone fruit notes, balanced by a subtle, nutty undertone and a tea-like finish. For those looking to better understand the nuances of these descriptors, consulting a flavor wheel can be a helpful tool in identifying the interplay between the vibrant raspberry and white peach notes and the delicate Earl Grey finish present in this particular roast.