Yes, he's back. Another fabulous coffee from our friend Sebastian Ramirez and his coffee project El Placer. If you're a regular with Crankhouse then Sebastian doesn't need any introductions. This ‘CM washed’ Pink Bourbon comes from four partner farms that form part of the project, Andalucía, La Sofia, La Carito and La Paz spread between the Quindo and Huila growing regions.

For those that are relatively knew... here's a little background: Sebastian is a 4th generation Colombian coffee farmer who has been running his family estate for over a decade. El Placer means "The Pleasure" in English, and the farm is located in the heart of El Eje Cafetero (the coffee zone) in Calarcá, Quindío at an elevation of 1744 masl.

This year we've had a few stunners from Sebastian and this washed Pink Bourbon showcases the complex characters of one of the current superstar varieties of the Arabica world. What was originally thought to be a Bourbon mutation discovered in Huila in Colombia in 2014 subsequently achieved a great deal of attention in the speciality world due to it's cup quality. Very different to the super sweet but relatively 'simple' Red and Yellow Bourbon's, it showed more complex floral and delicate fruit characteristics. So different was it that it was only a matter of time before someone took it upon themselves to undergo some genetic testing of this new and special variety.

Ian Fretheim from Cafe Imports wrote this in his great article in 2023: "Genetic testing revealed that Pink Bourbon was just a name. Pink Bourbon, as tested by us on two occasions (2017 by DNA Analytica and 2023 by RD2 Vision), was not a Bourbon at all, let alone a rare cross or mutation of one or more Bourbons. Nor was it a nouveau hybride. TLDR: Pink Bourbon is an Ethiopian landrace variety."

This latest gem from Sebastian is a washed Pink Bourbon that underwent an initial 24hr fermentation in the cherry with CO2 added. After that the coffee was pulped, washed and patio dried to achieve 10.5% humidity prior to shipping.

When we asked our import partner for a few pictures related to this coffee they included this blast from the past from the El Placer QC room. This special duo were the first coffees of Sebastian's we were fortunate to represent back in the day.