PRODUCER:  Smalholder farmers

PROCESS:  Washed

REGION: Planadas, South Tolima

VARIETAL:  Castillo, Caturra, Colombia

ALTITUDE: 2050 MASL

Tasting Notes:  Notes of red apple and stonefruit with smooth brown sugar and black tea body.

About The Coffee

This washed lot is made up from 1,042 small organic growers organised into 23 farmer groups in the subregion of Planadas, South Tolima. These farmers, most of whom continue a family tradition of coffee cultivation, are based at elevations up to 2,050masl and grow the varieties of Colombia, Castillo and Caturra.

Planadas is located on the southern tip of the department of Tolima, close to borders with Huila and Cauca. Situated in the foothills of the central mountain range of the Colombian Andes, the region benefits from excellent altitudes, cool temperatures, plentiful sunshine and rain, and rich volcanic soils.

Coffee farmers in Tolima are dedicated and traditional. In some areas, their infrastructure is not as developed as in other regions because of the history of conflict. This is the region where FARC guerrilla originated and therefore, communities all across Tolima experienced the cruelest years of conflict in Colombia. As a result, and despite exceptional growing conditions, many farmers were previously isolated from access to extension services, agri-inputs and thriving markets for their coffee. 

To process this coffee, organically grown cherries are selected, de-pupled and fermented to break down the mucilage. The coffee is then thoroughly washed and dried in a parabolic greenhouse for between 10 and 18 days, depending on the climatic conditions. 

As with many coffee origins, it is believed that coffee was first brought to Colombia by priests, arriving, perhaps, within a decade or two after coffee first came to the Americas via the Caribbean in the first half of the 17th century. It was likely a garden crop grown for local consumption and barter for decades. Unlike other coffee regions, we have the story of a priest named Francisco Romero, who could be called the father of commercial coffee cultivation in Colombia. The folkloric tale goes that in the early 1800’s, Father Francisco, hearing confessions in the north eastern town of Salazar de la Palmas, assigned planting coffee to his parishioners as penance for their sins. The Archbishop of Colombia heard about this and ordered all priests to adopt the practice. Commercial production of coffee expanded quickly, moving into regions where the growing conditions were ideal.