The town of San Agustin is located in the southern corner of Colombia in the Department of Huila.
This particular coffee is comprised of several tiny lots from the area. San Agustin is a great area for altitudinal coffee, with farms ranging in the 1600 – 1850 meters above sea level.
This area is prime for growing amazing coffee. In fact, it’s close proximity to the equator means that they can harvest nearly year round.
Most of the farms in San Agustin depulp their cherry using manual, hand cranking depulpers. Although rudimentary tools are used, attention to detail and clean execution becomes apparent in the cup quality.
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping a cup of Huila Colombia San Agustin, from Entimos Coffee Roasters in Citrus Heights, California. Feel free to pull up a chair.
the basics:
region: San Agustin, Huila, Colombia
farm: Huila Cooperative
producer: smallholder farmers
elevation: 1600 – 1850 meters above sea level
cultivars: Caturra
process: fully washed, patio dried
certifications: standard
the coffee:
The aroma of the San Agustin is brimming with life: bright floral aromatics of cherry blossom and rose hips combine with notes of cane sugar and citrus.
Diving into the first few sips and my palate is immediately greeted by confectioner’s sweets: brown sugar, raw honey, a dash of cocoa nibs. But I can tell that this is going to be a lively coffee because, already, there is a swelling raspberry tartness happening at the tail end of each sip. Once this cup cools, that raspberry is going to blow up…
Boom goes the dynamite.
This coffee is really following the prototype for a lot of Colombias I’ve had recently: starts off with something pleasant to ease you into the cup, then takes you by storm with a fruit frenzy at the finish. Though many coffees have the same basic premise, no two coffees are alike; and this coffee has some really dynamic flavors happening right now. That raspberry is really hogging the spotlight, but there are also flavors of nectarine, apricot, grapefruit, mango, and papaya, and those are all rounded out with a tight citrus acidity that bites the sides of the tongue before the cup collapses into a dusting of brown sugar at the finish.
Medium body; juicy mouthfeel; citrus acidity; clean finish.
the bottom line:
The Huila Colombia San Agustin, from Entimos Coffee Roasters, is a bright and lively cup of coffee that bursts out of the cup like it can’t be tamed. Really beautiful fruit notes collide with sugary sweetness to create a coffee that simply sings.
I’ll admit that I had a tough time dialing this one in; it wasn’t a very forgiving coffee. A touch too coarse or a smidge too fine were more than enough to really throw the cup off. Once I finally nailed it, the reward was well worth the effort.
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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.