Tabi.

A Colombian research line whose name means good in Namtrik, the language of the Misak.

Sought-after beans

CenicaféThe federation's research centre at Chinchiná, Caldas, since 1938. It bred Colombia, Castillo and Tabi, and publishes the trials the house cites.More → released Tabi in 2002 from Typica, Bourbon and Timor HybridA spontaneous cross of arabica and robusta found on Timor in the 1920s. The source of leaf rust resistance in Castillo, Tabi and most modern bred varieties.More → lines. The tree was built for resilience without giving away the older lineages behind it.

The house rates it above its price. It arrives as a rotating guest, bought when a sample earns the place.

What it was for

By the 1970s a third of Colombia's coffee area was shaded smallholding planted with tall varieties, yielding around half the national average. Those growers had no Leaf rustHemileia vastatrix, la roya: the fungus that strips arabica of its leaves. Colombia's breeding programme exists to resist it, which is why Castillo and Tabi carry Timor Hybrid lines.More → option that suited how they farmed: the new compact varieties wanted sun, DensityHow much bean there is per litre, a stand-in for how slowly it grew. High-grown lots run dense, about 700 g/L and up, and take heat harder early in the roast.More → and fertiliser. Tabi was bred to give them a tall tree that could resist rust without changing the farm around it.

Trials went in during September and October 1992 at four substations across Huila, Santander, Valle and Cesar, running fifty-two progenies against Típica and Borbón controls with and without fungicide, over four harvests. It was released in June 2002.

The parentage, stated properly

Tabi is usually written as Typica by Bourbon by Timor Hybrid, which implies a single three-way cross. That is not what happened. It is a composite of separate crosses: Timor Hybrid CIFC 1343 with Típica and with Borbón, made in Colombia, plus tall segregants from Portuguese crosses using a different Timor accession, brought in at the second generation. Advanced progenies were carried to F5 and F6 and the seed released as a mix, the same multiline logic as Castillo.

The name comes from Namtrik, the language of the Misak people of Cauca, and means good. Cenicafé's release paper calls Namtrik a dialect; it is one of the Coconucan languages. Guambiano is the exonym, Misak is what the people call themselves, and the house uses both so the reference can be followed.

Colombia's best green coffee beans, at auction · 2023

31 prize lots: NZ$44 to NZ$269 a kilo.

A dot for each lot of green coffee beans sold at Colombia's best-coffee auction in 2023, by its price in New Zealand dollars a kilo, beside the price of everyday Colombian green coffee beans imported into New Zealand that year.0$50$100$150$200$250$300Everyday green coffee beans, 2023: NZ$9.52 a kiloEveryday NZ$9.52Caturra, Castillo, Colombia, 87.78 points: NZ$44 a kiloBourbon, 87.89 points: NZ$47 a kiloBourbon, 87.22 points: NZ$47 a kiloBourbon, 88 points: NZ$48 a kiloBourbon Rosado, 87.28 points: NZ$48 a kiloColombia, Typica, 87.11 points: NZ$48 a kiloBourbon Rosado, 88 points: NZ$49 a kiloAjí, 87.61 points: NZ$51 a kiloBourbon, 87.44 points: NZ$51 a kiloGeisha, 87.56 points: NZ$52 a kiloGeisha, 87.06 points: NZ$52 a kiloGeisha, 87.5 points: NZ$55 a kiloChiroso, 89.39 points: NZ$62 a kiloCaturra, 88 points: NZ$72 a kiloGeisha, 88.17 points: NZ$72 a kiloCaturra Chiroso, 88 points: NZ$72 a kiloCaturra, 88.89 points: NZ$75 a kiloCaturra, Castillo, Colombia, 88.06 points: NZ$76 a kiloGeisha, 88.83 points: NZ$81 a kiloGeisha, 89.5 points: NZ$87 a kiloGeisha, 87.44 points: NZ$95 a kiloGeisha, 87.89 points: NZ$99 a kiloGeisha, 89.78 points: NZ$140 a kiloGeisha, 90.06 points: NZ$144 a kiloAjí, 89.56 points: NZ$151 a kiloGeisha, 90.39 points: NZ$161 a kiloGeisha, 90.39 points: NZ$161 a kiloGeisha, 90.33 points: NZ$173 a kiloGeisha, 90.33 points: NZ$173 a kiloGeisha, 90.61 points: NZ$253 a kiloGeisha, 90.61 points: NZ$269 a kiloA dot for each lot of green coffee beans sold at Colombia's best-coffee auction in 2023, by its price in New Zealand dollars a kilo, beside the price of everyday Colombian green coffee beans imported into New Zealand that year.0$100$200$300Everyday green coffee beans, 2023: NZ$9.52 a kiloEveryday NZ$9.52Caturra, Castillo, Colombia, 87.78 points: NZ$44 a kiloBourbon, 87.89 points: NZ$47 a kiloBourbon, 87.22 points: NZ$47 a kiloBourbon, 88 points: NZ$48 a kiloBourbon Rosado, 87.28 points: NZ$48 a kiloColombia, Typica, 87.11 points: NZ$48 a kiloBourbon Rosado, 88 points: NZ$49 a kiloAjí, 87.61 points: NZ$51 a kiloBourbon, 87.44 points: NZ$51 a kiloGeisha, 87.56 points: NZ$52 a kiloGeisha, 87.06 points: NZ$52 a kiloGeisha, 87.5 points: NZ$55 a kiloChiroso, 89.39 points: NZ$62 a kiloCaturra, 88 points: NZ$72 a kiloGeisha, 88.17 points: NZ$72 a kiloCaturra Chiroso, 88 points: NZ$72 a kiloCaturra, 88.89 points: NZ$75 a kiloCaturra, Castillo, Colombia, 88.06 points: NZ$76 a kiloGeisha, 88.83 points: NZ$81 a kiloGeisha, 89.5 points: NZ$87 a kiloGeisha, 87.44 points: NZ$95 a kiloGeisha, 87.89 points: NZ$99 a kiloGeisha, 89.78 points: NZ$140 a kiloGeisha, 90.06 points: NZ$144 a kiloAjí, 89.56 points: NZ$151 a kiloGeisha, 90.39 points: NZ$161 a kiloGeisha, 90.39 points: NZ$161 a kiloGeisha, 90.33 points: NZ$173 a kiloGeisha, 90.33 points: NZ$173 a kiloGeisha, 90.61 points: NZ$253 a kiloGeisha, 90.61 points: NZ$269 a kilo
Source: Cup of Excellence, Stats NZ · 2023

Prize lots: Cup of Excellence, Colombia's national competition, where the top-scoring green coffee beans are sold at an online auction. Winning bids in Colombia, before shipping, at each year's average exchange rate.

Everyday green coffee beans: the average value of green coffee beans imported into New Zealand from Colombia that year, with freight and insurance, before GST.