I lucked out big time when I saw this lot pop up with our importing partner, Falcon, bit of a pinch myself moment being able to cop a ‘Cup of Excellence’ contender at a recession proof friendly price. If you’ve not come across ‘Cup of Excellence’/COE before, it’s arguably the gold standard for coffee competitions, a yearly event which sees the top coffee producers/farms submitting lots for consideration against an in country and international judging panel made up of coffee professionals. There are typically around 300 lots submitted for consideration, which over a number of rounds of painstaking evaluation are whittled down and ranked. This particular coffee from the La Chirimoya farm came in at a very impressive 23rd place with a score of 87.75. A naturally processed lot that is well balanced, floral with ripe melon, mango and chocolate. Compared to some of our other coffees these might not be the most experimental of flavours, but this is every bit enjoyable as the latest ‘whizz bang outer space fermented experimental process’. This is coffee that stands up without an added extra, it’s a beautiful cup. Roasted on the light side of medium, my go to for this is filter, although enjoyable as espresso as well.