Colombia Hugo Melo

Orange Caramel Milk Chocolate

Hugo Melo’s coffee returns for a third year, perfectly balanced, with delightful citrus flavors offset by rich chocolate, caramel and a subtle herbal character. A small producer in the remote area of San Augustin, Hugo’s coffee excels due to his intensive care for his crop, despite being isolated from the larger specialty coffee community in the rest of Huila. A great example of what can be achieved with common hybrid varietals and processing techniques.

Size 10oz 2lbs 5lbs

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About This Coffee

Flavors: Orange, caramel, milk chocolate

Sourced from: Huila, Colombia

Elevation grown: 2000 Meters

Producers: Hugo Melo

Varietals: Caturra

Harvested: 2024

Process: Washed

Like many others in San Augustin, Melo’s coffee is largely a family affair: he works very closely with three generations of relatives who all grow coffee, largely eschewing the contract labor used by most coffee producers. Even though the work is hard, this gives Melo a very close eye on his crop, ensuring only ripe cherries are picked and that every step of processing is done correctly. He has a sophisticated processing protocol, using both a cherry ferment after picking and an anaerobic fermentation stage after pulping.

Huila, Colombia

The San Augustin area is perfect for coffee production, with rich soil, good rainfall, lots of native shade trees and old coffee varietals. What may be lost from isolation from the cutting edge of processing, agronomy and support is made up for by the universal quality of terroir. Access to high paying specialty buyers and new infrastructure can bring meaningful economic security to the region’s producers.

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