Colombia - Banana Co-Ferment / Pink Bourbon / Honey Process (Green Coffee) 1KG

This expressive Pink Bourbon is produced by smallholder coffee farmers across Huila, Tolima and Caldas, before being brought to El Vergel Estate for processing by Elias and Shady Bayter and their team.

The cherries are sourced according to the harvest season, allowing freshly harvested Pink Bourbon to be selected from across the three regions before being transported to El Vergel. Here, the coffee undergoes an experimental honey process combined with an extended banana co-fermentation — creating a distinctly sweet, creamy and expressive profile.

The process begins with ripe Pink Bourbon cherries undergoing a 48-hour pre-fermentation in sealed plastic bags. Keeping the coffee in whole cherry during this initial stage allows fermentation to begin within the fruit, building sweetness and depth before the coffee is depulped.

Following depulping, the sticky mucilage is intentionally left surrounding the seed as part of the honey process. The coffee is then combined with yeast and banana flavouring and allowed to co-ferment within this mucilage for a further five days. This extended stage is responsible for much of the coffee's distinctive character, building pronounced banana sweetness alongside a rich, creamy texture and confectionery-like profile.

Once fermentation is complete, the coffee is initially pre-dried under the sun on open patios before being transferred to static mechanical silos. Combining the two drying methods allows the initial drying to take place naturally before greater control is introduced to bring the coffee evenly and consistently towards its final moisture content.

The dried coffee then undergoes a 30-day stabilisation period before milling and export, allowing moisture within the seed to equalise following the intensive fermentation and drying process.

This is an unapologetically fun and expressive co-ferment. Banana is front and centre, accompanied by candy-like sweetness, cake and milk chocolate, with the honey process contributing to its creamy, rounded character.

For roasters looking to explore contemporary co-fermentation, this is a particularly playful coffee to work with. Intensely aromatic, sweet and immediately recognisable in the cup.

Expected flavour profile: Banana, candy, cake, cream and milk chocolate.