Cedro Alto Coffee

Rosendo Garzón – El Jordán

Julio Bastidas — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 21:16:47 +0000

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Rosendo Garzón

Finca El Jordán

Planadas, Tolima

2.6 hectares

Pink Bourbon, Tabi

1800m (5906ft)

Natural Process

Marquesina - enclosed mesh floor

Partial shade, plantain and native hardwoods (in process of recuperation)

Strawberry, lime, sugar cane, medium-high critic and malic acidity

Farm Background

Humberto Pecupaque and his wife Alba Zuleta are the proprietors of Finca El Diamante in Gaitania, Tolima, Colombia. Their farm is situated in the Nasa We'sx indigenous reserve, a sovereign territory within Colombian borders administered by the native authorities, allowing the indigenous worldview and values to dictate community life, education, trade, and among others. Humberto has a long story himself that should be a book. But in few words, he spent his childhood in the indigenous reserve where he now lives and works, but was displaced by armed conflict as a child, leaving him a young orphan trying to scrape by on the other side of the central mountain range in Corinto, Cauca. He took the only job that allowed him to survive at the time, in illicit agriculture. In Corinto, he met his wife, Alba, who is just as much a part of Finca El Diamante as he. (It's actually divided in 2 parcels and titled to each of them respectively.) They desired a different environment for their 2 young children to grow up in, so they returned to Tolima and purchased a small farm in Planadas, then later moved to the indigenous reserve of Humberto's childhood. Since then, he has been active in community organizing, representing the indigenous community to the outside world, including politically. He is an important bridge for the community, speaking perfect Spanish while much of the community does not, and understanding non-indigenous society, politics and trade.

Understanding the risk implied in alternative coffee growing techniques and the potential reward they can provide, he has elected to invest heavily and take great risks with the goal of improving producer income in the reserve. He has constructed immense drying structures and replanted half of the farm with prized delicate coffee varietals in order to test whether any of them could work well in the reserve and provide an economic impulse so that the others don't have to take the same risk. Just as these plants were coming into their first season of full production, he suffered a terrible accident, falling from a cable car high over a ravine, suffering severe trauma several hours by motorbike from the nearest hospital. He was in a coma for several weeks, totally paralyzed for several more, and for the last 6 months has been slowly recuperating.

His wife, Alba, returned to the farm alone and found the wet mill ransacked. She faced the challenge with determination, grace, and strength, a combination that can only be described accurately in local vernacular as "berraquera." Using a kind of coded treasure map, the results of several seasons of processing experiments with Cedro Alto, she has been able to keep the cup profile consistent, rebuild most of what was lost, and continue the project moving forward. With this year's quality premiums, the family plans to continue to improve by planting additional native shade trees in the coffee plots and build lombriculture (worm composting) chambers to further reduce productive dependence on the commercial monetary economy.

The Pecupaque Zuleta family are a shining example of what is possible if one is able to observe and internalize market realities while staying true to one's own values and community. Despite immense difficulties and setbacks, they have never compromised and honored commitments and friendships. We are grateful for our friendship with them and only hope that their example will motivate others to act with their integrity and passion, that we can continue to honor and communicate their achievements with others, and to continue to learn from their example ourselves.

Farm Location

Andrés Trujillo

Julio Bastidas — Fri, 29 May 2020 15:45:30 +0000

Andres Trujillo
Finca La Esperanza
Finca La Esperanza
Finca La Esperanza
Finca La Esperanza

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Andrés Trujillo

Finca La Esperanza

Planadas, Tolima

4 hectares

Typica, Caturra, Colombia F6

1900m (6233ft)

Tank Fermented Natural

Marquesina - enclosed mesh floor

Diverse native hardwood shade

Orange, Lime, Kiwi and Cider

Interesting Fact

Andrés exclusively produces natural process, 100% of his farm’s production!

Also, and don’t hold it against him, he never drinks coffee. Ever.

Farm Background

Finca La Esperanza, Planadas, Tolima, Colombia

Farm Location

Gildardo Ucué

Julio Bastidas — Fri, 29 May 2020 15:03:06 +0000

Coffee Farmer Gildardo Ucué
Finca Los Eucaliptos
Finca Los Eucaliptos
Finca Los Eucaliptos
La Plata, Huila. Finca Los Eucaliptos
Finca Los Eucaliptos

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Gildardo Ucué

Finca Los Eucaliptos y Los Caímos

La Plata, Huila

5 hectares

Colombia, Castillo, Común, Caturra

1500(4921ft) - 1650m (5413ft)

Washed, mixed anaerobic fermentation

2-phase african bed + marquesina - enclosed mesh floor.

Dense native hardwood shade

Cherry, Lemon, Panela

Farm Background

La Plata, Huila

Farm Location

Olmedo Cebay Caldon

Julio Bastidas — Thu, 28 May 2020 21:59:22 +0000

Coffee Farmer Olmedo Cebay
Finca Finlandia
Finca Finlandia
Finca Finlandia
Drying Bed Finca Finlandia

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Olmedo Cebay Caldon

Finca Finlandia

La Argentina, Huila

0 hectares

Colombia F4 & Typica

1730m (5675ft)

Washed, mixed anaerobic fermentation

2-phase african bed + marquesina - enclosed mesh floor.

Partial shade, fruit trees

Farm Background

La Argentina, Huila

Farm Location

Yaqueline Hernández

Julio Bastidas — Thu, 28 May 2020 21:32:07 +0000

Finca Los Pinos
Finca Los Pinos
Finca Los Pinos

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Yaqueline Hernández

Finca Los Pinos

La Argentina, Huila

9 hectares

Colombia, Castillo, Tabi & Typica

1775m (5823ft)

Washed mixed anaerobic fermentation

2-phase african bed + marquesina - enclosed mesh floor.

Partial native hardwood and fruit tree shade

Lulo (kiwi+passion fruit), strawberry jam, vanilla, crisp

Farm Background

La Argentina, Huila

Farm Location

Segundo Ortíz

Julio Bastidas — Thu, 28 May 2020 21:23:06 +0000

Coffee Farmer Segundo Ortiz
Finca Alto Roblalito
Finca Alto Roblalito
Finca Alto Roblalito
Finca Alto Roblalito
Finca Alto Roblalito

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Segundo Ortíz

Finca Alto Roblalito

Nataga, Huila

7 hectares

Caturra, Colombia, Castillo, Typica

1875m (6151ft)

Washed mixed anaerobic fermentation.

2-phase african bed + marquesina - enclosed mesh floor.

Border shade & separate forest reserve area

Strawberry, mint, orange marmelade, winey

Farm Background

Nátaga, Huila

Farm Location

Enrique & Luis Eduardo

Julio Bastidas — Thu, 28 May 2020 20:33:03 +0000

Coffee Farmers Enrique and Luis
Finca La Esperanza
Finca La Esperanza
Finca La Esperanza
Finca La Esperanza
Finca La Esperanza

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Enrique y Luis Eduardo Oidor

Finca La Esperanza

La Plata, Huila

0 hectares

Colombia

1650m (5413ft)

Washed, 24-36 hour dry fermentation

2-phase african bed + marquesina - enclosed mesh floor.

Diverse Native Hardwood shade and fruit trees.

Farm Background

La Plata, Huila

Farm Location

Fabier Oidor – Buenavista

Julio Bastidas — Thu, 28 May 2020 16:35:24 +0000

Fabier Oidor
Finca Buenavista
Finca Buenavista
Wet Mill Finca Buenavista
Drying Bed Finca Buenavista

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Fabier Jarlid Oidor

Finca Buenavista

La Plata, Huila

4 hectares

Colombia, Castillo

1700m (5577ft)

Washed, mixed anaerobic fermentation

Marquesina - enclosed mesh floor

Partial shade, fruit trees and diverse native hardwoods

Green grape, passion fruit, sugar cane, floral.

Farm Background

La Plata, Huila

Farm Location

Rodrigo Perafán – Las Piedras

Julio Bastidas — Thu, 28 May 2020 16:13:56 +0000

Rodrigo Perafán
Finca Las Piedras
Finca Las Piedras
Finca Las Piedras - Rodrigo Perafán
Finca Las Piedras
Finca Las Piedras

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Rodrigo Perafán

Finca Las Piedras

La Argentina, Huila

6 hectares

Colombia, Typica, Gesha, Castillo, Pink Bourbon

1750m (5740ft)

Washed anaerobic in-cherry + extended dry fermentation

2-phase african bed + marquesina - enclosed mesh floor.

Native diverse hardwood shade. Intercrops fruits and grains, on farm organic fertilizer production.

Pineapple, Cherry, Green Apple, Panela

Interesting Fact

Since Rodrigo practices gradual 2-phase drying, because of the climate at his farm, and because he always dries down to 10.5% moisture, sometimes it takes him more than a month to dry his washed coffee!

Farm Background

Rodrigo Perafán is a joyful guy that lives life at its fullest and never loses the smile he constantly wears, even when narrating some of the most difficult situations he has had to face. Even when talking about the time he got covid, “three weeks where I fought against death”, he says, a situation that forced him to leave his finca and rely on his brother to care for it while he has away.

Back on his finca Las Piedras, Rodrigo is caring for his coffee trees which produce ripe cherry year-round, packing his raised beds full of beans drying year-round. Rodrigo piles the cherry when harvested in a wooden hopper until full, to later put the coffee in bags and leave them to rest for 40 hours straight. The coffee is then de-pulped and put in tanks to ferment for an additional 50 hours in water. Fermenting in water serves a double purpose, firstly it controls the average temperatures and prevents the beans to have undesired heat peaks. Secondly, it allows the lower density beans to float and be removed, improving the physical properties of the batch. The drying stage, which is the last one in the post-harvest processing, is done in covered raised beds, where the coffee is shaken daily to assure an even drying through a period of 30 days.

Farm Location

María & Orlando

Julio Bastidas — Fri, 22 May 2020 19:56:38 +0000

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María Ordoñez & Orlando Manso

Finca Las Lomitas

San Lorenzo, Nariño

1.5 hectares

Caturra, Castillo & Colombia

1920m (6300ft)

Washed, 24-36 hour dry fermentation

Marquesina - enclosed mesh floor

Partial shade, plantain and diverse native hardwoods

Rasberry, orange, winey, med-high citric & tarteric acidity, creamy body

Farm Background

Finca El Cedral has been in David Velázquez family for 4 generations, and 3 are currently farming the land. Broken up as inheritance between siblings 3 times now, it is its own little hamlet with houses scattered about on a hillside. While coffee has been a source of prosperity in the central western "paisa" region of Colombia for generations, for most of David's quarter-century life it has often been unprofitable, leading to vicious cycles of debt and depravation for years after loss-making harvests which are increasingly more common. Swaths of young people are leaving coffee and leaving the countryside looking for meager wages in the cities, and having mixed results. David and many other young people love the coffee farming lifestyle and know no other, but also wish to raise families without the economic instability that the coffee market subjects them to. Working with the DOT farmers' collective has proved to be the solution for David and his young family, that is expected to grow by one in the next few weeks.

David is also a leader in his community. He has found ways to educate himself to become a better farmer, participating in the Neumann Foundation's Coffee Kids program as well as several others offered by different arms of the Colombian government. Seeing other young people in the same situation where he found himself last year, David has organized a growing team of young, ambitious, quality-interested farmers in his area who have collectively opened a small warehouse in a nearby town to organize their coffee before sending it to DOT to dry mill.

We are proud to have David as a member of the DOT farmers' collective and are looking forward to expanding all of our efforts in El Águila so that everyone with the will to change their circumstances can do so the way that David has done.

Farm Background

San Lorenzo, Nariño