Colombia - Marlon Bolaños - Washed Aji Bourbon

Marlon is a 21 year old phenom in the coffee world. Marlon is part of a new generation of Colombian producers working with exotic varieties and obsessing over the details. And this coffee is exactly why that matters.

Marlon grew up knowing coffee as his family’s livelihood, but it wasn’t until a barismo course at 17 that he began to see its deeper potential. What started as curiosity became commitment: planting differentiated varieties, refining fermentation through trial and error, and building Three Coffee Farmers alongside his two brothers.

From the spring water filtered through rock on his farm — now known among competitors as “champions’ water” — to his dream of producing a winning auction lot, Marlon represents a new generation of producers shaping their future with intention, patience, and vision.

Despite being called Bourbon Ají, genetic research indicates that this coffee isn’t actually related to Bourbon and is not a pepper either.

It’s an Ethiopian landrace. It ended up in Colombia, adapted to its new environment, and became one of the country’s most fascinating emerging varieties. Legend has it that the “Ají” part comes from the pepper-like aroma associated with the coffee cherries.

This is the part of coffee we can’t get enough of.Not just Colombia. Not just “washed. Not just “light roast. It’s the variety. The producer. The process.