How’s it going? Hope the coffee is flowing! After a brief pause to share some new brands with you, I am back at it with reviews of coffee I purchased at the 2025 Pennsylvania Chocolate and Coffee Festival. This week I am brewing El Viajero Coffee’s La Maria Natural.
The Roaster
El Viajero Coffee was founded by David Iannone, a United States Army veteran, and his wife, Adriana. They offer specialty coffee that, at this time, is sourced exclusively from Colombia. The company was founded with the mission of showcasing the incredible coffee Colombia has to offer while building long-term relationships with farmers to help promote the longevity of their farms and keep them within the families that own them. This mission is especially meaningful to Adriana, who was born in Colombia.
David and Adriana purchase their beans directly from the farmers, which benefits the farmers greatly. El Viajero pays above-market prices for their beans and reduces the risks farmers face when relying on cooperatives or other intermediaries to bring their beans to market. This mission was driven by a visit to Colombia in which David and Adriana spent time with coffee farmers and got to learn the great pride these farmers take in their products, along with the struggles that they face. As you may recall, I really enjoyed the bag of Taza de Oro I picked up at the 2024 festival, so let’s find out whether this special edition offering exceeds the standard set by Taza de Oro.
When rating coffee I follow the same method of brewing each time. Find out about how I prepare French Press coffee here.
El Viajero La Maria Natural Review:
Characteristics and Flavor Profile
When ground La Maria Natural has a bright and distinct fruity fragrance.
| La Maria Natural | French Press | Pour-Over |
| Aroma | Very fruity with a subtle touch of sweet vanilla to balance the tart fruitiness | Bold and fruity with hints of brown sugar |
| Body | Medium-light body, a slight mouthfeel but not a noticeable weight | Light body, very mild mouthfeel |
| Start | Mildly sour fruit start, strong grapefruit-like notes | Bright and fruity start, blueberry-like notes with well balanced sweetness and tartness |
| Middle | The sour notes fade and a fruity sweetness comes forward giving this peach-like notes | Strong sweet vanilla notes come forward, the fruity notes fade but a slight fruitiness remains |
| Finish | Strong sweet vanilla notes that give way to a well balanced nuttiness | Sweet almond-like nuttiness |
Overall Thoughts
Overall, this is a bold and fruit forward coffee with a great complexity in the flavor profile. The French Press brought forward a strong sourness, especially in the start, that was eventually balanced by sweeter notes. Brewing La Maria Natural with my Chemex provided a smoother and more balanced cup of coffee throughout the entire experience.
La Maria Natural tastes like it was tailor-made for a pour-over, which ended up being my preferred brew method. The sour start from the French press wasn’t necessarily unpleasant, but was a little harsh. The pour-over, however, delivered fruity notes that popped before transitioning into a sweet middle and a nutty finish, providing a pleasant experience from start to finish.
This is a fairly complex coffee with strong fruity notes and, especially with a French press, a distinct tartness. Casual coffee drinkers may not enjoy this level of complexity or the fruit-forward flavor profile. However, I would highly recommend this coffee to enthusiasts or to anyone looking to experience a complex cup with a wide range of tasting notes.
Where to Purchase
La Maria is a special edition coffee and cannot be purchased on the El Viajero website; however, you may be able to find it at events that El Viajero attends. I highly recommend checking out their lineup of Colombian coffees, as they have many fantastic offerings. If you see something you’d like to try, use the code COASTERSNCOFFEE10 to get 10% off your entire order.
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