We were looking for a good washed Colombian coffee to fill a gap whilst we were awaiting for our longstanding Villa Maria coffee to come back in and this one fit the bill nicely. Mandarino is a solid, classic Huila profile offering a creamy body, pronounced caramel sweetness, and a mild, mandarin-like acidity.

The importer Minga Coffee named this coffee after its flavour note, but also in homage to the mandarin fruit, which is the most widely grown alongside coffee on farms across Huila. This blend primarily comes from farms in the municipality of Oporapa, a coffee-driven economy where two of our team members were born and raised. With deep-rooted connections in this beautiful coffee region, we have been building and maintaining strong relationships with local producers for over 20 years.

Huila is part of the Colombia Massif, a UNESCO Biosphere reserve covering 4 departments of Southwest Colombia where the Andes separate into two mountain ranges (central and eastern) and where 5 of Colombia’s main rivers are born. This reserve is a strategic area for Colombia, holding more than 70% of the country’s freshwater and an impressive source of biodiversity. Soils in the Massif are extremely rich and fertile for agriculture.

What this location means for coffee is that the ecosystem in which coffee grows between 1200 and 2000 masl is conducive to the development of complexity in the fruit. As described in the Appellation of Origin “Cafe de Huila” : the limited sunlight in the region, averaging 1,260 hours per year – about 3.5 hours per day – creates a natural shade that encourages the accumulation of chemical precursors (lipid content and chlorogenic acids) which positively contribute to the coffee's flavour profile.

(words and pictures courtesy of Minga Coffee)