Colombia Los Rosales

This coffee is produced by ~50 smallholders that deliver their harvests to Coop Especiales, in the town of Buesaco.

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Varieties: Caturra, Typica, Castillo, and V.Colombia
Process: washed

Flavour: malt, dark chocolate, cookie dough

Body: Acidity:

Origin story and details

Producer: ~50 Smallholders
Farm / Cooperative: Coop Especiales, Buesaco
Region: Nariño, Colombia
Altitude: 1700-2100m above sea level

This coffee lot is made of cherries that ~50 coffee growers deliver to the Coop Especiales warehouse in Buesaco town, in the department of Nariño.

This area is not far from the Pacific Ocean, which has an enormous impact on its climate. The nights are cold, and the days are warm; this slows down the ripening process, giving a distinct sweetness and complexity. In addition, the high altitude in which coffee grows promotes the growth of small, dense beans packed with flavour. It’s not surprising that Nariño is well-known for the quality of its coffee production.

Unlike other regions of Colombia, Nariño has only one harvest season from ~May to ~September.

Caravela Coffee are responsible for selecting and mixing the cherries that make up ‘Los Rosales’. They have been working with local producers since 2015 and have their own warehouses and cupping labs. There, they analyse all the cherries, separating them by quality grade, providing immediate feedback to farmers and paying on the day for the purchased lots.

Caravela named this lot ‘Los Rosales’ (which means 'the rose bushes' in Spanish) inspired by the abundant flower fields that grow in the area, also known for its ornamental plant production.

We’ve been using Los Rosales as a blend component yearly since 2018. Caravela classifies this coffee as grade A (SCA score 84-85, paid 15-25% above market rate).

Traceability

100% Caturra, Typica, Castillo, and V.Colombia coffee beans, provided by Caravela and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.

Country grade: Excelso (Colombia) ?

Importer grade: A (Caravela) ?

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, harvest date, and more) that our importers share with us for public use.

Being transparent helps us to talk confidently about the quality and background of the products we sell. It also helps you to know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest sourcing

This coffee was harvested in July 2024.

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing).

This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Learn everything about this coffee:

Roasted for espresso (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: espresso. We normally roast all our single origins omni, but there are some exceptions—this coffee is one of them! The roast profile leans to the darker side of the spectrum, but is still considered lighter when compared to other espresso roasts in the market.

Designed for espresso brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For our espresso roasts, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:2 or 1:2.2:

Dose: 22g ground coffee
Yield: 46–48g espresso
Total brew time: ~26-32 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (espresso roast blends and single origins)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and materials

Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
Labels: recyclable
Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

Learn more:
Our packaging

Best brewed 15–49 days post-roast

When you leave your whole beans to rest (inside the sealed bag) until our recommended window, you’re brewing at optimum flavour and acidity.

This time allows for the gas compounds, absorbed during the roasting process, to leave the coffee. If you brew too early, it may not be bad, but you’ll miss out on each coffee’s best flavour.

Our recommended brewing window

FAQs

Do you ship anywhere in Australia?

Yes! We deliver our coffee and brewing gear Australia-wide, roasted to order and in compostable and recyclable packaging.

Do you ship internationally?

We ship coffee beans to select international countries. Check the list to see if we ship to your destination.

Can I buy pre-ground coffee?

Yes, we offer pre-ground options for different methods:

- Ground for domestic espresso (home espresso machine)
- Ground for stovetop (Bialetti)
- Ground for AeroPress / Kalita / Cold Brew / Moccamaster / Plunger / French Press (immersion style)
- Ground for V60/Chemex (pour over style)

Do you source your coffee ethically? How so?

We source our coffee from small growers, producers, and cooperatives through responsible importing companies; 95% of our green coffee beans are supplied by Caravela Coffee, Cafe Imports, Osito, and Melbourne Coffee Merchants (certified B Corporations), plus Condesa Co Lab, Cofinet, and a few more.

We share all the traceability information we have about each coffee lot (territory of origin, producer, variety, processing method, importer, quality grade) on each dedicated coffee page. This applies to the blend components in our espresso blends.

Learn more about our coffee philosophy.

Do you roast dark or light?

We roast our single origins using omni roast medium/light profiles. (Omni means you can use the coffee both for filter and espresso brewing, no need to buy different bean bags with specific roast styles.)

We roast our espresso blends using darker profiles.

Learn more about our approach to roasting.

What is ‘specialty coffee’?

The definitions and references to specialty coffee are tricky, if not controversial.

Historically, and as most people see it these days, specialty coffee is Arabica beans that score over 80 in the old Specialty Coffee Association point scale. Today, the SCA refers to specialty coffee as “a coffee or coffee experience that is recognised for its distinctive attributes, resulting in a higher value within the marketplace.”

Our single origins are Arabica +85 SCA score and our blend components Arabica +80, which could be considered ‘true specialty’ coffee. Though we prefer to use the term ‘high quality’ and back this claim with solid traceability data.

What’s the benefit of your coffee subscription?

When you subscribe, you get freshly roasted coffee delivered as often as you need, so you don’t have to be so hands-on in planning your coffee purchases.

Also, you get free shipping on every delivery, and you can cancel or pause whenever you need – no lock-in periods.

Can I buy these beans in your coffee shops?

Yes, definitely! You can walk into any of our cafes in Sydney (or our wholesale network) and grab what’s available on the shelves. You can also buy online here and select free pickup from the Sample Coffee stores.

See all our FAQs

Sample Coffee Roasters warehouse in St Peters, Sydney

With love, from Sample

We’re an independent coffee roasting company based in Gadigal land / Sydney, Australia

We’ve been sharing exceptional coffees since 2011, with a particular focus on rotating single origins, ethical sourcing, and homebrewing accessibility.

Our daily work is driven by quality, consistency, transparency, and fun. This approach has slowly and organically connected us with a community of homebrewers and professionals who value how we do business and, above all, love delicious coffee beyond the hype.

Learn about us