Coffee Story

This producer group is part of the Cooperativa de Caficultores de Alto Occidente de Caldas which was established in 1964. The San Lorenzo indigenous group is based in the Rio Sucio municipality of Caldas where there are 11,500 inhabitants with 1,150 farmers growing and producing coffee within the 21 communities. This region, until recently, was heavily inhabited by the FARC, ELN, Paramilitary groups, and guerrillas who looked to control this central corridor in Colombia. This region has not been known for specialty production but as the tensions ease and access has improved it is now possible to demonstrate the quality of the coffees available. The indigenous inhabitants believe in the Pacha Mama where they see the land as a living being. To them, it is their duty to protect the natural environment and have as little impact as possible from their farming of coffee and to leave it as it has always been. Each farmer has approximately 0.5 Ha of land in which they have about 2500 coffee trees. During the harvest, the families will work with their neighbours to hand-select ripe cherry before de-pulping in micro-beneficios where they will then de-pulp and ferment the coffee in water for 16 -24 hours depending on the weather. The coffee is then washed and then put out to dry on small drying patios on the roofs of the houses where they will dry it for between 8– 14 days. They then deliver it to the Cooperative where it is assessed and categorised before being allowed to rest and then milled for shipment.