This Tabi lot comes from Consuelo Rubio and her daughters, Blanca Flor and Roxana, whose farm, Finca San Francisco, sits on the slopes of the Andes Mountains (at approximately 1800 M.A.S.L), near the village of El Lirio in northern Peru. While spending time with Consuelo’s family in 2022, we were blown away by the meticulous care they take in cultivating their coffee plants, and their scientific approach to their production processes. This Tabi is the result of such talent and hard work – expect juicy apple and blackberry, followed by lingering cocoa notes reminding us of chocolate truffle.
The Rubio family has been farming coffee on the same land for generations. Blanca and Roxana’s grandfather originally managed the coffee fields for the owner of a large estate in the region. In 1969, the Peruvian government initiated agrarian reforms, which split up the vast estates (held by a group of elite and powerful landowners at the time) and redistributed the land to the rural workers. Following these reforms, the Rubio family had the opportunity to purchase a small parcel of the land which they had previously managed. In the 1990s, Consuelo and her husband began planting coffee trees on the farm, with an initial focus on cultivating Typica, Caturra and Timor.
The Tabi varietal is not commonly found in Peru. It is a hybrid of Bourbon, Typica and Timor that was released by the Colombian government in 2002 as part of its efforts to combat leaf rust (a disease affecting coffee plants). The Tabi’s bold and vibrant flavour profile can be attributed to its Bourbon and Typica parents, while its leaf rust resistant quality comes from its Timor parent. In 2014, Consuelo’s husband came across a Tabi plant which was being grown by farmers in a nearby town called “La Higuera”. The farmers sung its praises, telling Consuelo’s husband about its unique cup profile, excellent yield and resistance to leaf rust. He brought the plant back to the family farm and spent much of the next two years focusing on cultivating the plant. Since his passing in 2016, Consuelo, Blanca Flor and Roxana (with the support of their siblings Nancy, Richard, and Wilder) have continued his legacy by their production of this vibrant Tabi.
The Rubio family takes a scientific, precise approach to processing – they measure and record the changes in the coffee cherries at every stage of the process to ensure a consistent cup profile. This Tabi underwent an anaerobic washed process. Between July and October 2022, the cherries were selectively harvested when they reached an average Brix (i.e. natural sugar level) of 17%. They were then de-pulped and fermented in a restricted oxygen environment (sealed, airtight GrainPro bags) for 40 hours (until the pH level of the beans reached 4.22). The coffee was then slow dried in elevated mesh trays in the shade for 36 days.
We began working with Consuelo in 2022. That year, we purchased two single origin lots produced by Consuelo’s family, including this Tabi. It was harvested between July and October 2022 and landed in the UK in February 2023.
We agreed the price of the parchment coffee (that is, the unhulled coffee beans still covered by a natural protective "parchment" layer) with Consuelo’s daughter, Blanca, during the harvest. We paid Blanca directly for the coffee, and we worked with Collective Bean to process it (including removing the parchment layer and packing it into 46kg bags) and export it to the UK.
For further details on the prices below visit our Transparency Page.
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