Aloof by Marleyi Cordoba: The Candy Bar of Coffees
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When women and coffee come together, something extraordinary happens. Aloof by Marleyi Cordoba is proof of that. This Colombian Tabi varietal from San Agustín, Huila, is sweet, balanced, and quietly captivating. It tastes like comfort. Think Coffee Crisp and Glosette raisins. Whether brewed as espresso or drip, Aloof delivers that same nostalgic sweetness wrapped in a clean, chocolatey body.
But the real story starts far from the cup.
Meet Marleyi Cordoba of Finca El Diviso
High in the hills of Los Robles, San Agustín, sits Finca El Diviso, a two-hectare farm at 1,980 masl run by Marleyi Cordoba and her mother. The region is known for world-class coffee, but it’s also one of the toughest places to grow it. The altitude brings cool temperatures that slow production, and Marleyi’s path into specialty coffee has been anything but easy.
Her family migrated from Cauca when she was seven, settling on a single hectare of land to plant coffee. The cold weather caused repeated crop failures, and by her teens, Marleyi left school to find work in nearby cities to help her family survive.
In 2018, everything changed. After her brother’s sudden passing, her father abandoned the farm, leaving Marleyi and her mother to manage it alone. In a country where women rarely run farms, this was a turning point. To stay afloat, Marleyi adopted the practice of “jornal al cambio”: working on neighbouring farms one day in exchange for labour or help on her own.
Despite the challenges, she refused to quit. With guidance from her friend and mentor Jhon Jairo Gomez, Marleyi planted the Tabi varietal, a hybrid of Typica, Bourbon, and Timor Hybrid. Known for its disease resistance and layered sweetness, Tabi thrives at altitude when treated with care, and that’s exactly what Marleyi gave it.
In 2021, Semilla Coffee (our import partner) purchased her first lot, marking her entry into the specialty coffee market. Since then, she’s been reinvesting in her farm, expanding her processing area, renovating her trees, and planting Pink Bourbon, which she believes will be easier to manage.
The Process: Precision and Patience
Aloof is a washed coffee, but Marleyi’s process gives it distinct depth. Cherries are hand-picked every three weeks, ensuring only the ripest fruit. They’re fermented for twelve hours in wooden tanks, then depulped and sealed in clear plastic bags for a 72-hour fermentation, a step that amplifies sweetness and body.
After rinsing, the coffee rests for twelve hours in mesh bags to drain, then dry on raised beds for 20–25 days. The result is a coffee that’s remarkably consistent, with clean chocolate tones, gentle fruit notes, and a candy bar-like sweetness.
The Taste: Chocolate, Raisin, and Pure Comfort
Aloof embodies everything you want in a daily coffee: comfort, sweetness, and balance. Brew it as drip, and you’ll find flavours reminiscent of Glosette raisins, toffee, and milk chocolate. It’s sweet, mellow, and smooth, with a soft fruitiness that rounds out each sip.
As espresso, it’s bold yet forgiving. The syrupy body brings flavours of chocolate-covered almonds, molasses, and nougat, finished with a mild grape-like acidity. It’s the kind of shot that needs no sugar or milk but plays beautifully with either.
Aloof is that coffee that works across brew methods. Sweet and balanced enough for drip, structured and syrupy enough for espresso. Its versatility makes it a crowd-pleaser without being ordinary.
Brewing Aloof: How to Bring Out the Best of This Tabi
Aloof’s character is defined by sweetness, balance, and a mild acidity. To bring those qualities forward, focus on even extraction and moderate temperatures. Below are brewing recommendations that highlight what makes this coffee shine across methods.
These are guidelines only and I always say, brew your coffee the way you like it, not how others tell you to brew it :). If you're looking for brew gear, check out our merchandise.
Espresso
- Dose: 18g-20g in, 40-60g out
- Time: 26–30 seconds
- Temperature: 93–94°C
Aloof loves slightly longer ratios that let its sweetness stretch out. You’ll get notes of chocolate-covered raisins, molasses, and a hint of citrus brightness. If your shot runs too fast, tighten your grind—sweetness peaks when the shot has viscosity.
For milk-based drinks, Aloof holds its flavour beautifully. It cuts through milk without bitterness, giving you a flavour profile like Coffee Crisp: malty, chocolatey, and balanced.
Pour-over (Hario Dual Mesh or Kalita Wave)
- Dose: 20g coffee, 320g water (1:16 ratio)
- Grind: Hario: Medium-Coarse; Kalita: Medium-fine (slightly finer than table salt)
- Water Temperature: 94°C
- Brew Time: 2:45–3:00 minutes
Use a pulse pour technique: pour in stages every 30 seconds, keeping the bed evenly saturated. The goal is clarity. Aloof rewards patience with layered sweetness: milk chocolate, toffee, and subtle raisin tones that feel like dessert.
If you prefer a little more brightness, increase your brew ratio slightly to 1:15 and shorten brew time by 10-15 seconds.
French Press
- Dose: 20g coffee, 300g water (1:15 ratio)
- Grind: Medium-coarse (slightly coarser than sea salt)
- Water Temperature: 93°C
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Brew Time: 4 minutes
Bloom for 30 seconds, stir gently, and steep. When the time’s up, press slowly. Expect a round, creamy cup with flavours of caramel, chocolate, and a soft raisin sweetness. French press brings out Aloof’s body and candy bar-like richness.
AeroPress
- Dose: 15g coffee, 220g water (1:14.5 ratio)
- Grind: medium-fine
- Water Temperature: 92°C
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Method: Inverted
Add 50g water, bloom for 30 seconds, stir, then add remaining water. Steep for 1:30, invert and press over 30 seconds. This method highlights Aloof’s smooth chocolate notes with a syrupy texture and low bitterness, perfect for travel or afternoon brews.
Each method brings out a different side of Aloof, but all share the same result: sweetness, calm, and quiet sophistication. It’s a coffee that wins you over with balance.
Community and Collaboration: The Monkaaba Initiative
Behind Marleyi’s success is the Monkaaba project, a smallholder empowerment initiative in San Agustín led by Esnaider Ortega Gomez. Monkaaba helps farmers like Marleyi take control of their own marketing, quality evaluation, and pricing.
Esnaider hosts weekly cuppings for local growers, inviting them to taste, learn, and improve together. This transparency empowers producers to understand their own coffee quality and build sustainable relationships with buyers.
As Esnaider explains, the goal isn’t just to sell coffee, it’s to rebuild trust in a system where small producers have often carried all the risk while big companies take the reward. Monkaaba’s model ensures that producers like Marleyi aren’t just seen as suppliers, but as partners with knowledge, agency, and voice.
Why Aloof Stands Out
Aloof by Marleyi Cordoba is more than a delicious cup. It represents what happens when women are given the chance to lead, innovate, and thrive in coffee production.
From the care she puts into every fermentation to the courage it took to rebuild her family’s farm, Marleyi’s story mirrors the cup itself: resilient, balanced, and full of character.
When you drink Aloof, you’re not just enjoying flavour. You’re supporting a woman who turned loss into leadership and carved her own place in Colombia’s specialty coffee scene.
In the Cup
- Origin: San Agustín, Huila, Colombia
- Producer: Marleyi Cordoba
- Farm: Finca El Diviso (2 hectares)
- Variety: Tabi
- Process: Washed, 72-hour fermentation
- Altitude: 1,980 masl
- Tasting Notes: Chocolate, raisin, caramel, candy bar sweetness
- Best for: Espresso and filter brews
Final Thoughts
Aloof is the kind of coffee that reminds you why you fell in love with specialty coffee in the first place. It’s approachable yet refined. It’s everything we love about coffees from women producers. Crafted with intention, care, and resilience.
So whether you brew it slow on a quiet morning or pull a quick espresso between meetings, take a second to savour it. Because every sip of Aloof tells the story of what’s possible when women lead and when coffee is treated as both art and livelihood.
Taste Aloof. Taste Marleyi’s craft. Taste what intention can do.