Wilson Lopez Colombia was selected as one of the top microlots evaluated by the professional cupping team at Inconexus Fine Coffee in Colombia. Last September, the import company Royal Coffee co-hosted the first Mejor de Nariño tasting event where buyers and members of Royal had the opportunity to cup coffees with Adriana, Nilson, and Cielo, the people who established and run this special microlot program in Nariño, Colombia.
The department of Nariño has about 40,000 coffee farms – two-thirds of which average around 3 acres in size. Nariño’s proximity to the equator delivers intense exposure to the sun (relatively constant and powerful year-round), which influences the cherry maturation rate. Warm air rises from the deep canyons at night and acts like a protective blanket for the coffee plants perched on the mountain tops. These combined attributes cause coffee plants to passively absorb the sun’s energy during the day and then come alive at night when the conditions are less harsh. This translates into concentrated flowering and long cherry maturation periods.
For this year’s Best of Nariño, the Inconexus team has selected coffee from Wilson Rene López, who produced this lot on his 4-acre farm called Las Murgas. Lopez has been cultivating coffee for more than eight years and uses his own micro-mill to process harvested cherries, which allows for meticulous care in depulping, eighteen-hour fermentation periods, and 7-14 days of drying.*
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re cupping the Wilson Lopez Colombia, from Compelling Coffee in Los Angeles, California. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THEDETAILS
region: Medina Espejo, Nariño, Colombia
farm: Finca Las Murgas
producer: Wilson Rene Lopez
association: N/A
elevation: 2000 – 2200 meters above sea level
cultivars: Caturra
process: fully washed, patio dried
CUPPINGNOTES
The aroma of the Wilson Lopez Colombia is fragrant and complex. It’s lightly sweet, with scents of vanilla and caramel—not unlike creme brulee; then there’s some lively lime and tropical fruit notes. I’m also getting some interesting nuances of hickory and florals.
The flavor follows the nose; again, this is kind of a complex cup of coffee. It’s medium-bodied, and has a juicy mouthfeel that splashes on the tongue and completely envelops it; so even though it’s medium-bodied, it completely occupies my palate. Up front I’m getting some really unique flavors: white chocolate, lavender, cola… There is an underlying sweet-tartness from a sweet lime acidity that intensifies as the cup cools. The cup also presents some bright, lively tropical fruit flavors during this cooling off phase: melon, mango,
FINALTHOUGHTS
Compelling Coffee recently won a Good Foods Award for their Ethiopia Banko Gotiti and, upon being thrust into the national spotlight, promptly sold out of a few of the coffees in their current rotation. Unfortunately, their Wilson Lopez Colombia was one of those, and it sold out a few days before I had the opportunity to post this review.
It’s no wonder it sold out so quickly, though… It was a really tasty coffee.
*content courtesy of Middle State Coffee
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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.