Colombia【Botton Estate】|The Historical Story of Estate Coffee Cultivation?【Botton Estate Elephant Bean

Colombia's El Boton Estate: The History and Story of Estate-Grown Coffee

El Boton Estate Maragogipe Peaberry: Flavor Profile and Brewing Parameters

El Boton sits in the mountainous La Carmina district, in the south-west of Antioquia province — geographically part of north-western Colombia, within the Pacific coastal province. Since 1930 the Herran family has grown Maragogipe, the elephant bean, on this land. They could earn far higher yields from newer varieties, yet they still insist on growing nothing but elephant bean to this day, which is why the estate produces only 600 bags a year, each weighing 70 kg. Among coffee farms, that kind of single-variety commitment is a rare thing. The estate stands at 4,430 feet, and La Carmina's rich, fertile soil lets the family plant at low density, with every tree grown under shade.

The harvest begins in October. Because only ripe red cherries are picked, it continues through to January of the following year. El Boton insists on harvesting only fully mature fruit and wet-processing it on the estate the same day, using an environmentally friendly method that consumes less water for pulping and washed fermentation. All residue from processing is returned to the coffee trees as fertilizer. After fermentation and washing, the parchment is machine-dried at low temperature down to a moisture content of 12%, then moved into silos, where it waits for hulling and grading.

As you may recall, Maragogipe already yields poorly, and a peaberry within elephant bean is rarer still. In the photo below, the elephant-bean peaberry still looks impressively large — beside peaberries of other varieties, it is almost a giant baby.

After hulling, the women of the estate hand-sort the green beans, removing defects and keeping only the best. This stage is done entirely by hand, with no machines involved. Elephant beans are naturally larger than ordinary flat beans, and while full manual screening is labour-intensive, it makes perfect sense here — the estate's output is already very small.

Coffee Origin Information

Country: Colombia
Region: La Carmina, south-western mountain region of Antioquia province

Estate: EL BOTON
Variety: Maragogipe
Grade: Peaberry

Processing Method: Washed fermentation, with machine drying in the final stage
Defect Count: 1.5d/350g

Cupping Results

Dry Aroma: Uplifted, with floral hints, a grassy fragrance and floral essential oils

Wet Aroma: Caramel aroma, citrus acidity

Slurping Flavor: Oily mouthfeel, citrus and plum acidity with tropical fruit sweetness, a well-balanced sweet-and-sour structure, and a varied, lasting aftertaste

Mouthfeel Description: Hazelnut, caramel and chocolate, with noticeable sweetness, a creamy sweet aftertaste and a long finish

FrontStreet Coffee Recommends Brewing:

Filter: KONO filter

Water Temperature: 88 degrees Celsius

Grind Size: Fuji grinder setting 4

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:14, using 17g of coffee grounds. First infusion with 25g of water, 30 seconds bloom. Second infusion to 238g total water, extraction time around 2:30 minutes.

Analysis:

The KONO filter has few ribs at the bottom, and the filter paper sits tightly against the cone, which restricts airflow. That keeps the water and coffee grounds in contact — and steeping — for longer, giving coarse grinds enough time and rate of extraction. The grounds are therefore fully extracted, which builds a richer mouthfeel and concentrates the flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Colombia Huila Coffee — Huila province, in the southern part of Colombia's Central Cordillera, is the country's best-known specialty coffee region. This is a mountainous, mountain-ringed area where coffee is planted above 1,500 meters, and where Colombia's most important rivers converge, bringing abundant water and humidity. FrontStreet's washed Huila lot is given a medium-dark roast, which brings out black chocolate, a sweet nutty fragrance, moderate oil and a full-bodied cup. It works beautifully as pour-over or French press, and it is equally at home in a moka pot or an espresso machine, where it makes superb americanos and lattes.

FrontStreet Colombia Frontera Estate Sidra — Grown at the Frontera Estate at 1,650–1,800 meters, this is a competition-winning variety. The cherries are processed as a double anaerobic natural and roasted medium-light to preserve the fruit aromatics. The dry fragrance carries jasmine and citrus; the cup shows passion fruit, blueberry, grape and apricot in a dense, juicy sweetness, with a bright yet soft acidity, a light spice note mid-palate, and a lingering cocoa finish. It suits pour-over, espresso SOE and cold drip, and an iced pour-over brings out its fresh, silky grape-juice character.

FrontStreet Signature Espresso Blend — For anyone with a home espresso machine or a moka pot, this is the blend baristas reach for. Created for cafés, it marries the creamy nuttiness of Brazilian coffee with the dark chocolate bittersweetness of Colombian coffee, and it extracts with a fine golden crema. It is ideal with milk for a rich, smooth latte, forgiving enough for beginners, and also serves as the base for americanos, cappuccinos and mochas.