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

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El Boton Estate Maragogipe Peaberry: Flavor Profile and Brewing Parameters

Located in the mountainous region of La Carmina, in the southwestern part of Antioquia province, Colombia, this area is considered the northwestern part of Colombia, belonging to the Pacific coastal province. The coffee harvest season begins in October. Because only ripe red fruits are harvested, the harvest period continues until January of the following year. The estate insists on harvesting only mature fruits and performing wet processing on the same day within the estate. It adopts an environmentally friendly processing method with lower water consumption for pulp removal and washed fermentation. The residues from the processing process are all used as fertilizer for coffee trees. The drying method after fermentation and washing uses machine drying, using low temperature to dry the parchment beans to a moisture content of 12% before moving them to the warehouse for storage, waiting for hulling and grading.

El Boton estate is located in the mountainous region of La Carmina, in the southwestern part of Antioquia province, Colombia. This area is considered the northwestern part of Colombia, belonging to the Pacific coastal province. Since 1930, the Herran family has been producing elephant beans (Maragogipe) at this estate. Even though producing other new varieties could bring more yield than elephant beans, the Herran family still insists on producing only elephant beans to this day. This results in them harvesting only 600 bags per year (each bag weighing 70kg); among coffee estates, producing only elephant beans is considered a rare commitment. El Boton estate has an altitude as high as 4,430 feet, with La Carmina's rich and fertile soil. The coffee trees are planted at low density and all are grown under shade. The coffee harvest season begins in October. Because only ripe red fruits are harvested, the harvest period continues until January of the following year. El Boton estate insists on harvesting only mature fruits and performing wet processing on the same day within the estate. It adopts an environmentally friendly processing method with lower water consumption for pulp removal and washed fermentation... The residues from the processing process are all used as fertilizer for coffee trees; the drying method after fermentation and washing uses machine drying, using low temperature to dry the parchment beans to a moisture content of 12% before moving them to Silos for storage, waiting for hulling and grading.

If you recall, the Maragogipe variety originally has low yield, and the peaberry among elephant beans is even rarer. Please see the picture below: the peaberry of elephant beans still looks quite large, compared to peaberries of other varieties, it's almost like a giant baby.

After hulling, the women of the estate are responsible for the selection of green beans after hulling, removing defects and selecting the best green beans. This part is completely manual labor without using machines. In fact, elephant beans are originally larger than regular flat beans, and although complete manual screening is labor-intensive, it actually makes sense, and the estate's yield is already very small.

Coffee Origin Information

Country: Colombia
Region: La Carmina, southwestern mountainous area 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: Aroma is uplifted, with hints of floral notes, grassy fragrance, and floral essential oils

Wet Aroma: Caramel aroma, citrus acidity

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

Mouthfeel Description: Hazelnut, caramel, chocolate, with noticeable sweetness, creamy sweet aftertaste with lasting 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 doesn't have many ribs at the bottom, and the filter paper fits tightly against the filter, achieving the purpose of restricting airflow. This allows water and coffee grounds to have longer contact and steeping time in the filter, ensuring sufficient extraction time and rate for coarse grinds. This enables the coffee grounds to be fully extracted, enhancing the rich mouthfeel and making the flavor more concentrated.