Colombia John Hurtado

Funky & Complex

It's here! Finally, the winning coffee of last year's Czech barista of the Year competition is back! It is an unconventional variety of Wush wush processed using the anaerobic natural method. And just like last year, when this coffee appeared in a limited edition, it is one of the best coffees you will have the opportunity to taste from us this year.

Anaerobic pre-processing leaves intense notes of overripe fruit in the flavour, which remind us most of cherry, blackcurrant or orange. In the aftertaste, notes of raisins and milk chocolate linger. The coffee has a high sweetness, an interesting vinous acidity, a full body and a beautifully smooth texture. On the filter, this is a really dense, intense coffee that surprises with its sweetness and complexity. On espresso, it is the vinous acidity of the sparkling wine and the syrupy texture that stand out the most.

How did this coffee come about? Farmer John Hurtado took over his parents' coffee farm a few years ago and gradually transformed it into what Mahusa is now. When he left his homeland at a young age to live in the United States, little did he know that thirty years later he would decide to return and dedicate his life to fine coffee. Gradually, he planted new varieties on the farm, improved processes and focused on the quality of the coffee produced.

Currently, its production includes the Pink Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, Caturra, Castillo, Geisha or, as in the case of our coffee, the Wush Wush variety. All the coffee trees grow in a narrow strip stretching between 1 700 and 1 900 m above sea level. The quality of the local coffee also lies in the organic and sustainable approach to farming. John leaves a lot of space for the native flora and fauna on his farm, with two native forests and three springs. John also attributes much of the improvement in coffee quality to the education of his pickers. He says he has taught them how to talk to, care for and respect the coffee plant.

The lot we chose is a naturally processed Wush Wush variety, just like last year. It is originally an Ethiopian variety, named after the region in which it was discovered. The story of this variety is very similar to, for example, the Gesha variety, which also has roots in Ethiopia, but only gained its proper fame after being transported to South America 30 years ago. However, the Wush Wush has been on the market for the last 3 years or so, mainly in Colombia and Panama. Taste-wise, it is an extremely interesting variety which, in addition to tropical fruit or floral notes, can also surprise with herbal notes.

For John, this lot is the second harvest of this variety. After several experiments with processing, he has found that the best results are achieved by sorting the cherries as carefully as possible and by prolonged anaerobic fermentation. So before drying, the cherries are sealed in air-tight containers for 120 hours, which adds balance to the resulting coffee profile and brings out the funky fruit notes. The cherries are then moved to the drying racks where they are shade dried for 30 days. It is this slow and controlled drying that further enhances the sweetness of the coffee.

Roasted coffee beans, 100% specialty coffee Arabica, roasted and packed in the Czech Republic.