Colombia - Finca El Topacio Tabi

Cofinet was established by brothers Carlos and Felipe Arcila, whose family history in coffee spans over 80 years. Their dedication to producing and distributing finer Colombian coffees has earned them a reputation as one of the world's renowned, larger-scale coffee distributors. Their long-running success is due to a steadfast commitment to quality and deep concern for and connections with the coffee growers they work with.

The family's willingness to embrace innovative post-harvest processing approaches alongside time-tested methods has allowed them to explore new flavor trajectories not previously found in the Colombian coffee landscape.

They ventured into innovative processing upon recognizing the benefit of alternative fermentation styles and keener attention to drying parameters in getting coffees to express novel and interesting tasting notes.

Their application of such techniques on traditional and exotic varieties as well as relatively recent, resilient cultivars like Castillo, have been achieving the desired balance between productivity and cup quality.

The Cofinet commitment to quality, sustainability, and ethical practices that allows them to produce great coffee goes hand in hand with their dedication to improving the lives of the people in communities where the coffees are grown is a key reason they enjoy high regard in the industry.

As a family-owned business, their legacy — from the earliest days of sourcing and locally distributing coffee to local exporters until their operations' recent expansion encompassing global distribution — has always been driven by their passion for advancing the Colombian coffee industry within the global market and along with that uplift the quality of life of the coffee-farming families they work with.

Carlos Alberto Amariles is a coffee grower whose farm, Finca El Topacio, is situated in Genova, the highest point of Quindío, the traditional center of Colombian coffee production. At 1900 to 2000 masl, his coffee trees thrive in the ideal microclimate and produce healthy cherries that contain the optimal components of flavor which are then revealed through thoughtful post-harvest processing. By using alternative methods for two years and counting, he has been able to realize the flavor and quality potential of the cultivars Castillo and Tabi grown on his farm for two years and counting.

Tabi is a cultivar developed by Cenicafe, Colombia's National Coffee Research Center as part of efforts aimed at creating a variety that would exhibit resilience, productivity, and the potential for good cup quality. It is a hybrid resulting from the crossbreeding of Typica, Bourbon, and Timor Hybrid.

The Typica variety is known for its bright acidity and fruity notes, Bourbon for its sweet and nutty flavor, and Timor for its earthy and spicy notes. Having those three in its parentage, Tabi is observed to display a balance of boldness, acidity, and sweetness, alongside the Timor Hybrid’s resistance and adaptability.

For this lot, the properly ripe Tabi cherries were selectively picked, and then floated and sorted to ensure only good quality cherries would proceed to the meticulously monitored and implemented 72-hour dry anaerobic fermentation phase using Grainpro bags. Throughout this stage, CO2 was periodically added into the bags to maintain an oxygen-free fermentation environment intended to enhance the coffee’s sweetness, mouthfeel, and body. The drying phase that followed was carried out on raised beds, at an ambient temperature of 35 degrees, until the desired moisture level was achieved.

As a result, the character of Carlos’ Tabi expresses a comfortable and pleasant balance of caramelly and nutty nuances complemented by delicate acidity.