Jose Maria Campos’s grandparents came to La Higuera in search of land during the 1940s. This remote area in the Colasay district was sparsely populated, and land was cheaper than in Piura—a region roughly 200 miles west from which they emigrated. Today, La Higuera is less remote, but only slightly so. The partially paved road to get to this community was only completed in 2005. Coffee farms dot the hills in every direction and are the primary source of income for those who live there. During our first visit to La Hierba Santa in late 2022, it took more than an hour to walk from the nearest unpaved road to reach the beginning of Jose’s property. His four-hectare farm spans roughly from 1800–1950 MASL, planted primarily with a highly unique variety referred to in the area as ‘Bourbon de Colasay,’ along with some Catuaí. Jose depulps his coffee cherries the day after harvesting, placing the sticky parchment in plastic bags under shade to ferment for two to three days before washing the coffee in a wooden tank. Afterward, the coffee is placed in solar dryers until it reaches the ideal moisture content. This process can take anywhere from 10–20 days, depending on the weather.
In the field, Bourbon de Colasay trees bear an uncanny resemblance to traditional Bourbons, though they produce more fruit and are highly resistant to Coffee Leaf Rust—a blight affecting nearly all coffee growing regions across the world. Genetic testing has shown that this variety is quite different from Bourbon, resembling the genetics of Catimor. Catimors are a family of introgressed varieties, meaning they stem from an early cross of two different species of coffee—Arabica and Robusta. Interestingly, the genetic markers for Bourbon de Colasay are clearly related to Catimors, though do not match any known Catimor varieties exactly. This suggests that this variety was the result of a cross-pollination or mutation that happened in this area at some point years ago. While Bourbon de Colasay has the production benefits of Catimors, mentioned above, it lacks the vegetal and astringent flavors often found in the Catimor family. This lot is made up primarily of red Bourbon de Colasay, along with a yellow mutation that to date has only been found on La Hierba Santa.
