June 2025: Podium Platinum. Royal Flamingo Coffee
Country: Colombia
Varietals: Bourbon Sidra
Region: Huila
Process: Black honey process; mossto lactic fermentation
Producer: Edwin Noreña, Campo Hermoso
Elevation: 1,650 MASL
Tasting notes: Blueberry, white chocolate, floral
The Coffee:
About the fermentation/processing method: The cherries were harvested at over 20° Brix and soaked in water for two hours for cleaning and sorting. The coffee cherries were placed in a low-oxygen environment for 24 hours at 18–22°C.
At the Campo Hermoso R&D Center, the cherries underwent carbonic maceration for 72 hours in 2000kg tanks. The juice (Mossto) was collected, exhibiting a pH of 4.2 and 11.5° Brix. This mossto was inoculated with a specific lactic acid bacteria starter culture. Before the cherries were pulped to a black honey processing level and macerated in 200kg reactors, the starter musto was brewed at a ratio of 50ml/kg for 96 hours at 18°C.
The coffee was sun-dried in a greenhouse under controlled conditions for 10 days and then stabilized in GrainPro bags for 10 days. The coffee was cupped, classified, and finally stored in a controlled environment at 65% RH and an average temperature of 18°C.
The Roaster:
Royal Flamingo Coffee is an award-winning micro-roaster and coffee shop in Columbus, Ohio. Husband-and-wife duo Bryan and Beth Brzozowski launched Royal Flamingo in 2021 with a mission to make serious coffee for unserious people.
They focus on carefully sourced, high-point coffees in two lanes: delicious daily drinkers and limited specialty beans that showcase new or interesting varietals, microlots, and growing/processing methods. They want to make great coffee that’s enjoyable, approachable, and (most importantly!) fun. Royal Flamingo opened its first cafe in July 2024 and has quickly earned a reputation for serving some of the best and most unique coffees in Central Ohio.
Before opening Royal Flamingo, Bryan and Beth were avid coffee drinkers. Beans from specialty coffee roasters were always on the counter. They’d build entire travel itineraries around visiting coffee shops. And it’s the great coffee shops — the baristas and roasters who were wildly generous with their knowledge — that made them want to be part of the specialty coffee world.