Why volcanic soil makes better coffee
People ask why a coffee from one hillside can taste so different from the same variety grown a valley over. The answer is usually in the ground.
Our 295 Reserve grows in Narino, in the far south of Colombia, where the Andes knot together at the Nudo de los Pastos. The soil here is volcanic. Centuries of ash have left it rich in minerals and quick to drain, and the plants that grow in it have to work harder for water and food. That struggle is a good thing. It slows the cherries down and packs the beans with more sugar and more density.
Altitude finishes the job. At 1,800 metres the days are warm and the nights are cold, so the fruit ripens slowly and evenly. A dense, slow grown bean holds more of everything you taste in the cup: the panela sweetness, the chocolate, the clean citrus lift at the end.
None of this can be added later. It is the reason a great single origin cannot be copied. It comes from one place, one soil, one season.
The 295 Reserve arrives late September. Join the waitlist at info.cafe295.com/reserve.