Colombia Huila Agustino Forest AAA

Above the archaeological town of San Agustin, where carved stone statues have watched over Colombia's southern Andes for two thousand years, the Agustino Forest curves like a green amphitheater around hillside coffee plots. Cherries grown here ripen slowly under warm days and cool nights. The result is a cup that tastes of citrus, cocoa, and something gently spiced.

OriginColombia RegionHuila, San Agustin Elevation1,400-1,900m ProcessWashed VarietyCaturra, Colombia The Source

The Forest Around San Agustin

Huila sits in Colombia's far south, a department whose volcanic ridges and deep river valleys feed the headwaters of the Magdalena. It is widely regarded as one of the country's finest growing regions, prized for clean, balanced cups with bright acidity and rounded sweetness. Colombia ranks third in the world for coffee production, and in Huila coffee is not a sideline but the backbone of rural life, driving the majority of farm income across these mountains.

This lot comes from COOAGUSTINOS, a cooperative of roughly 800 member-farmers working pocket-sized plots scattered through the Agustino Forest. They cultivate Caturra and Colombia cultivars at elevations between 1,400 and 1,900 meters, where nutrient-rich volcanic soil and the swing between tropical heat and mountain chill slow the fruit's maturation. That long, unhurried ripening concentrates sugars and aromatics inside each cherry. The cooperative channels premiums back into farmer training, cleaner wet mills, and reforestation, so the shade trees that protect the watershed also protect the cup.

The Craft

Hand-Picked, Fully Washed

Pickers move through the plots selecting only ripe red fruit, which is pulped the same day it comes off the tree. The seeds ferment under water for 18 to 24 hours, then get washed clean and spread across raised parabolic beds to dry in the Huila sun. This fully washed approach strips away the fruit before drying, which is exactly why the cup reads so transparent: bright acids stay forward and the bean's own character comes through without muddiness.

The AAA grade here is worth a word. In Colombia that mark sorts out the largest, densest seeds, screen size 18 and above, with very few defects. Bigger, more uniform beans accept heat more evenly in the roaster, so sweetness and nuance develop without scorched edges. We take these to a City+ roast, stopping just past first crack to hold the citrus and lemon brightness intact while coaxing out the caramel and chocolate underneath.

Meyer Lemon Caramel Milk Chocolate Cola Spice BodyMedium-Full AcidityBright The Cup

Citrus Into Cocoa

The first sip opens with sparkling Meyer-lemon zest, the kind of brightness that wakes up the whole cup. As it cools, caramel and milk-chocolate richness settle in across a medium-full body, and a soft cola-like spice lingers on the finish. It is complex without being demanding, the sort of coffee that rewards a slow morning and still pleases on a second pour.

Find Your Fix

Brew this as a pour-over through a Chemex or V60 for razor-sharp clarity that shows off the citrus, or pull it as espresso for a silky shot layered with lemon and cocoa. Drip and Aeropress both treat it well too. Browse all our coffee beans and find your fix.

Roasted in small batches at our Virginia Beach roastery.

Packaged in reusable glass mason jars, returned locally for reuse. Solar-roasted.

Virginia Beach, VA