Honey Haze Espresso

About the Coffee

Ferney Cruz farms Finca El Prado near the crest of the mountains above Tarqui, a small town on the western side of Huila, Colombia, overlooking the Magdalena River valley below. His farm sits at 1,900 meters, where cooler temperatures slow cherry maturation and allow more complexity to develop in the bean.

Ferney grows the Colombia variety, a cultivar developed by Cenicafé in the late 1960s by crossing Caturra with Timor Hybrid to combat leaf rust outbreaks threatening national production. It was widely planted by the early 1980s for its disease resistance, compact size, and reliable yields. When adopted at industrial scale, the variety was often grown in full-sun, high-density systems that leaned heavily on fertilizers and agrochemicals. Ferney farms differently: his Colombia trees grow under tall canopy shade, at lower planting density, in healthier, more balanced soil.

Ferney harvests only when cherries reach a deep burgundy colour. He then ferments them in closed tanks for 12 hours before de-pulping, followed by a second fermentation in mucilage for roughly 50 hours. After washing, the parchment dries slowly on raised beds under shade. That two-stage fermentation builds the clean sweetness and structure this coffee is known for.

About Phil & Sebastian

Phil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb co-founded Phil & Sebastian in Calgary in 2007. Phil came from an engineering background and put it to direct use in the business, designing their roasting machine and building the software that runs everything from order fulfillment to coffee menus. Sebastian brought a focus on entrepreneurship and finance alongside a drive to source directly in Central and South America. Both travel to origin regularly to buy green coffee and build relationships with producers.

Phil & Sebastian pay well above the industry average for green coffee and invest in projects at origin. Their sourcing model is built on the idea that producers need to be economically healthy for quality to improve over time. On the roasting side, they hold themselves to a standard they describe as competing not just against large chains, but against the best specialty roasters anywhere. That's a harder bar to clear, and it shows in how they approach selection and quality control.

"Phil & Sebastian is a favourite of mine from my time in Calgary. My wife swore by their "Hartmann Honey" beans, and we stocked it (or, maybe "hoarded" is a better word) for as long as they sold it. It feels like a 'full circle' moment to finally have them in our rotation."

- Dean, Director of Coffee