Introducing Carlos Imbachi

The cool, windward slopes of Huila produce ripe coffee cherry harvests yearlong, but this microlot, grown by Carlos Imbachi, is exceptional. For two years in a row, it won best coffee of the year at the annual Specialty Coffee Association for America festival, each time scoring over 90 points and superseding the lofty (and costly) Panama Esmerelda Gesha. 

Softspoken and amiable, Carlos has been farming coffee for almost three decades now at his 4.5-hectare farm, Finca Buenavista, which is located 1,800 meters above sea level in the village of San Agustín in southwestern Colombia. Carlos works alongside his wife, his five children, and his coffee pickers — and is known to play salsa music for everyone while they work.

After picking, Carlos’s cherries are fermented without water for 16 hours and then allowed to dry evenly in dedicated drying houses, which provide for better air circulation. The exceptional quality and care he puts into growing has made Carlos Imbachi’s coffee deservedly superior and award-winning.

Carlos Imbachi was roasted by Doubleshot, a roastery in Prague started in 2010 by three coffee enthusiasts. Prior to starting Doubleshot, Yara Tuček, Kamila Sotonová, and Jarda Hrstka educated themselves extensively; Yara and Kamila relocated to Panama and traveled to over a hundred coffee farms in Central America, and Jarda honed his craft roasting at 49^th Parallel in Canada. Both Yara and Jarda also became licensed Q graders, passing the notoriously difficult sensory exam.

When Doubleshot launched, it became, and still is the most significant specialty coffee roastery in the Czech Republic. In the process, the roastery has also proven a serious commitment to sourcing by visiting the producers of each coffee they sell, and buying their coffees directly at the farm. Carlos Imbachi is one such example — Doubleshot has not only sold his coffee, but has also maintained a consistent relationship with him for the last seven years.

Carlos Imbachi is the perfect dream of a Colombian coffee. On the nose, it has a heady fragrance of ripe plums and dark red cherries, with the mellow, comforting aroma of butterscotch and almond. Upon first sip, a white grape acidity of dry Riesling touches the front of the tongue and immediately folds into a well-tempered and rounded sweetness. The coffee has a chewy, mouth-filling body that’s reminiscent of a pastel de nata, that fresh-from-the-oven, caramelized Portuguese custard tart. The coffee’s long finish is surprisingly tropical, and with coconut milk and tamarind, it’s like a shining, sun-bathed vacation.

Carlos Imbachi strikes a perfect balance between sweetness, brightness, body, and clarity, and tastes universally excellent across all brewers. At the height of these hot summer months though, we recommend an iced Aeropress, which will release a full and intense cup of flavors while still being refreshing and delightful.