Almost 80 years ago as he began to plant his coffee plantations, the Las Chicas Del Cafe grandfather had the great vision to not be persuaded by newer hybrids that promised greater yields and better disease resistance, but compromised flavour. He decided to plant old world varieties with strong flavour profiles. He also had the vision to plant some varieties exclusively on certain plantations, creating their own micro-niche. And so today we can enjoy the privilege of tasting thier beans by their botanical variety; such as Bourbon from El bosque, Catuai from San Antonio and Las Pilas, or Maracatu from Los Robles.
Bourbon
The first Bourbon trees found on their family's farm were planted in the 1950s in the plantations of Lagunillas, San Antonio and La Joya. They were planted by their grandfather. Bourbon was one of their grandfather's favourite varietals. While many growers in the 1950s were switching to more resistant and higher yielding plants to obtain bank financing, their grandfather decided to plant this heirloom variety. Today their Bourbon has received wonderful reviews including recognition in July 2009's Coffee Review.Maracatu
The first trees of Maracatu were found on a plantation not far from their family's farm. This was a natural cross pollination between the Caturra and Maragogype varieties found in the area. What first strikes you about this bean is its buttery almost creamy body with its soft mellow cup. The tree itself looks very different to any other arabica varieties, much taller and with a longer leaf. The fruit of course is also bigger and it yields a large sized bean.
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