Colombia Edward Sandoval Wush Wush

We were lucky enough to get our hands on another small lot of Wush Wush variety from Edward Sandoval. Our enthusiasm for this lot is as much based on unique cup flavors as it is rarity. The "Wush Wush" variety originated in the Ethiopian town of "Wushwush" (or "Wishwish" if you're looking at Google maps!), not far from the Bonga forest in Jimma. Known for delicate cup flavors, Wush Wush was propagated by farmers in that region, and eventually made its way to South America in the early '90s. It's known to have lower yields, as well as lower disease resistance than your typical Caturra or Bourbon. This means it is more costly coffee for farmers to produce, which translates to a higher price than your average variety as well. The coffee comes from farmer Edward Sandoval, in Tolima, who's been a source of several different "exotic" varieties the last few years, including Moka, Gesha, and Chiroso. Edward worked for many years as a field technician for the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros ("FNC"). When he broke away from the FNC and set out to start his own farm, Finca Canta Ranas, he decided to plant varieties that were not promoted by his previous employer due to their need for a higher degree of management, but that are capable of producing a higher value cup. Edward's farm is small, just 3 hectares, and stretches up to around 2000 meters above sea level. We measured 1860 meters where the Wush Wush is planted. We'll have a Chiroso variety from Edward later this year.

*Learn more about Edward Sandoval, and the unique coffee varieties he produces in our recent blog post.