The first leg of our recent South American journey took place in Colombia. We arrived in bustling Bogotá for the night and set off the following morning for Neiva. There, we met with Rafael, an engineer from the Coocentral cooperative and a key contact for the producers we work with. Our goal was to reach Garzón in about three hours, a drive through trees and fields where lush vegetation reigns supreme, making you realize you're in a paradise nestled in the Andes Mountains.
When we talk about coffee in Colombia, we're talking about the world's third-largest coffee producer. Unlike its competitors, 'Café de Colombia,' the quality certification used to mark export sacks, undergoes rigorous quality control. Essentially, everything exported under this label is verified to be Arabica and washed. This has given Colombian coffee a very strong position in the global market, thanks to the more than 500,000 families dedicated to producing this wonderful product.
Strengthening ties at origin
As part of our direct engagement efforts in Colombia, we conduct regular visits to producers at their farms. These visits allow us to monitor the improvements implemented on their farms and in their coffee processing practices. This time, we visited a small group of producers in the municipality of Guadalupe, with whom we began working during the last harvest.
The Contreras brothers were the first producers we visited in the Filo Salazar area, on a family farm they inherited. José and Andrés Heider have a vision focused on specialty coffee production and have excellent infrastructure for their operations. With the intention of going further and satisfying these young men's curiosity, we have supported them by purchasing several fermentation tanks and some equipment to improve their coffee drying process. Their production focuses on different varieties, mainly Caturra and Castillo, and in the coming years we will be able to try their new plantings of Pink Bourbon and Geisha. We also collaborated on various experiments with controlled atmosphere fermentation and fermentation using a bed of coffee pulp. We achieved impressive results that will soon be revealed.
Another example of direct dealing in Colombia
Elver Novoa is the next producer we want to tell you about. Besides being the champion of the best coffee in Guadalupe in 2017, his coffees have us blown away. Finca San Luis is located in the Las Mercedes area at almost 1,900 meters above sea level, and the climb to get there is truly insane. Upon reaching the summit, you realize how incredible the surrounding landscape is. It's a panorama crowned by hundreds of hills with almost vertical slopes and lush vegetation covering everything.
Don Elver's farm is also his home, where he lives with his family. Besides coffee plants, he also has a cattle ranch, which is gradually shrinking as coffee production takes over. The varieties he cultivates are primarily Bourbon, Colombia, and a dwarf variety that appears to be a primitive, low-growing 'Colombia' variety. His plantation is like a small forest where coffee plants, trees, and other shrubs coexist in the same ecosystem. At the processing facility, there's a pulping station with a couple of fermentation tanks and a new dryer that he installed with part of the profit from the extra payment we made when we bought his lots last year. Don Elver's coffees are processed according to his exclusive criteria, as they have a defined and consistent profile with notes of white chocolate, vanilla, and tropical fruits. A delight!
What's coming
This concludes the first part of our post dedicated to the Huila region as part of our direct-to-consumer initiative in Colombia. Huila is a coffee origin we are intensively supporting, and we have already seen immediate results thanks to the dedication of its producers. We'll be back soon with the stories of two other producers we've been working with this year in the country. Our coffee selection will continue to grow with these Colombian lots as new harvests arrive at our roaster. Stay tuned for upcoming releases!