ASOANEI is an Association of Indigenous and small farmer Agro-ecological Producers from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serrania del Perija. The association was founded in 1996 with the purpose of structuring organic farming programs, while promoting the preservation of indigenous cultures in this region of Colombia.
ASOANEI is made up of more than 600 indigenous families belonging to four very distinct ethnic groups. Through the conservation and care of natural resources, the association seeks to improve living conditions and ancestral heritage. ASOANEI has a strategic plan for the future which incorporates social, environmental and cultural aspects. To implement it, the Association works with the participation of several regional and national entities.*
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Colombia Santander EP, from Barefoot Coffee Roasters in San Jose, California.. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THEDETAILS:
region: S. Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia
farm: N/A
producer: smallholder farmers
association: ASOANEI
elevation: 1800 – 2200 meters above sea level
cultivars: Castilla, Caturra, Typica
process: fully washed, fermented, patio dried
certifications: GrainPro, Ecotract, Fair Trade, Organic
CUPPINGNOTES:
The aroma of the Colombia Santander EP is filled with pleasant scents of the autumnal season, and they come wafting out of the cup. Caramelized brown sugar, citrus, nuts…
Taking my first few sips from the cup, the taste follows the nose. This is the kind of coffee I think of when I think of “comfort coffees”—it’s rich, buttery, moderately full-bodied, and flavorful, but not brimming with flavor; rather, the flavors herein are much more subdued and mellow. It’s a sweet coffee, with sugary flavors of toffee, cocoa powder, and caramel apple; and it was given just enough roast to keep it from being too sweet (though, the cost of that development is a coffee that doesn’t have much clarity or definition and suffers from something of a papery astringency in the finish).
As the coffee cools, it presents my palate with some additional flavors, but the profile doesn’t really evolve much beyond that. Now I’m tasting some brief hints of citrus (clementine and orange rind), raisin, cranberry… But it’s all a bit muddled. To be sure, that’s not to say that a muddled coffee is an unpleasant one; it’s just to say that the coffee doesn’t have the clarity I’ve come to expect from high-altitude Colombian coffees.
Medium body; buttery mouthfeel; citric acidity; dry finish.
FINALTHOUGHTS:
Maybe it’s the current weather—that brisk chill in the air, the changing of the leaves, the arrival of Autumn—that put me in just the right mood for Barefoot Coffee’s Colombia Santander EP, but this was a pleasant cup.
Being a relatively full-bodied coffee that filled the belly and its autumn-centric flavor profile—caramel, toffee, citrus, nuts—made it the perfect Autumn morning companion.
Is it a perfect coffee, though? No, probably not. It could have benefited from a bit more definition and clarity; that, of course, would take away its “comfort coffee” status, though.
*content provided by Barefoot Coffee Roasters
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Andrew is a husband, father, dog lover, craft beverage enthusiast, content creator, and niche market Internet celebrity. Formerly of A Table in the Corner of the Cafe and The Pulitzer Project and contributor to Barista Magazine and Mental Floss, he’s been writing on the Internet for years.