COLOMBIA NESTOR LASSO
This October we are swinging through spring with a coffee that combines florals, fruit, sweetness and a little spice – Nestor Lasso from Colombia.
Devoted Merlo drinkers may feel a spark of recognition at the Lasso name: last October we shone the spotlight on this virtuoso coffee producer, with the limited edition Colombia El Diviso.
It comes bearing its own bouquet of flowers: hibiscus, coffee blossom, and frangipani aromatics are our introduction to this coffee, filling the air as the coffee is ground. As the brewing process commences, these florals deepen while maintaining their heady sweetness. This one comes in with a cupping score of 86/100.
Unsure? See our grind guide below.
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Nine years after Nestor Lasso made the commitment to take his family farm off the safe road of standard coffee production, it’s safe to say that Nestor - alongside his brother Adrian and neighbour Jhoan Vergara – has blazed a brilliant trail through specialty coffee.
Their farm El Diviso has become a hotbed of cutting edge experimentation, incorporating rare and exciting coffee tree varietals while pushing the boundaries of new processing methods. As a third generation coffee farmer, Nestor Lasso has built on his strong foundation of traditional knowledge guided by a fearless creative spirit, and a precise scientific mind.
The lot we have chosen to showcase as Colombia Nestor Lasso for the month of October is a perfect illustration of the scope of Nestor’s carefully coffee growing wizardry.
These beans have been put through extended anaerobic processing, a 100 hour, 5 step protocol carried out under strict temperature and time conditions, which ends in the beans being soaked in the juice of the coffee cherries from the last harvest.
A glance at the specs reveals varietals including the rare Bourbon cross-cultivars of Sidra and Aji alongside the usual Red, Yellow and Pinks. Another varietal which stands out in the list is Ombligon; named for the unusual shape of its cherries, which resemble “ombligo”, Spanish for “small belly button”. Ombligon’s cultivation is almost entirely restricted to the region of Huila in Colombia, where it is thought to have grown as a natural mutation of Ethiopian landraces.
Country: Colombia
Region: Bruselas, Huila
Producer: Nestor Lasso
Farm: El Diviso
Varietals: Ombligon, Sidra, Aji, Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, Pink Bourbon, Geisha, Typica, Pacamara, Castillo
Process: Extended anaerobic wash
Altitude: 1750 masl.
Just as Brisbane spring brings a city awash with the purple haze of the Colombian native jacaranda, Colombia Nestor Lasso comes bearing its own bouquet of flowers: hibiscus, coffee blossom, and frangipani aromatics are our introduction to this coffee, filling the air as the coffee is ground.
As the brewing process commences, these florals deepen while maintaining their heady sweetness.
The first sip is so dense and rich, it’s akin to biting into a blackberry macaron, with flavours of coffee cherry and marmalade following close behind. The heavy fruit flavours are lifted by a note of spice: nutmeg adds a little kick, before the taste finishes in stone fruit, with bright nectarine mingling beautifully with the maraschino cherry acidity.
Colombia Nestor Lasso is a deeply complex coffee, rewarding the careful brewer with florals, fruit, sweetness and spice, all carried in a silky medium body.
Aromas: hibiscus, coffee blossom, frangipani
Flavours: blackberry, coffee cherry, marmalade, nutmeg
Acidity: maraschino cherry
Body: medium
Aftertaste: nectarine, stone fruit
Cupping Score: 86/100
There are so many ways you can go with a coffee like Colombia Nestor Lasso, but we’ll give you two options to help coax out those fabulous floral notes:
Pourover
- 1:17 ratio
- 15g dose
- water (87 degree C)
30 second bloom, equal pours every 10 seconds following
Espresso
- 1:2.2 ratio
- 18g in 39.6 grams out
Add a dash of hot (but not boiling) water to allow those delicate flavours to come through.