Cooperativa de Caficultores El Bombo (El Bombo Cooperative), previously known as Asobombo, was founded by third-generation producer John Edison Díaz to expand market access and secure fair, sustainable prices for member coffees. Today, their members across Huila, Caquetá, Cauca and Nariño are Organic certified and sell their coffees with El Bombo to garner higher prices for their hard work.
In Pitalito, farms tend to be slightly larger than other regions of Colombia. Most farms here are between 3 and 5 hectares, compared to 1 to 3 hectares in other regions.
Most of the families living in Pitalito today immigrated from Nariño in the 19th and 20th centuries. Nariño used to be much more densely populated than Huila, but many people migrated to Pitalito in search of affordable, fertile land.
In addition to coffee, many producers in Pitalito also grow sugarcane. El Bombo helped member communities build mills where farmers can process sugarcane into panela, a typical raw sugarcane product that is common in rural Colombia.
Members and their families selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on their farms. They pulp cherry on small handcrank pulpers and ferment it in tanks for 12 to 36 hours. Following fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and laid in parabolic beds, marquesinas or patios to dry. They rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying.
Pink Bourbon was previously thought to be a hybrid of Yellow and Red Bourbon varieties. The variety was first identified growing in and around Huila, Colombia. Recent research has found that Pink Bourbon is in fact not Bourbon at all. Pink Bourbon mostly likely comes from an Ethiopian landrace variety.
Pink Bourbon has a stunningly high cup potential that wows coffee professionals and consumers alike. Its impressively high cup quality makes even more sense now that we understand Pink Bourbon is not simply a hybrid of two Bourbon varieties but traces to Ethiopian landraces. Its siblings include the highly-prized Geisha, which has consistently produced incredibly high cup scores. Pink Bourbon will continue to be a highly distinguished and valued variety.
Some farmers also report that Pink Bourbon has more disease resistance than the Bourbons it grows alongside. Based on these new discoveries, this may be due to the genetic variety it has coming from Ethiopian landraces.
