Finca El Arroyo FW - Jorge Giraldo Ortiz

Like most other coffee farms in the San Lorenzo region of Nariño, Finca El Arroyo is a small. Owner Jorge Giraldo Ortiz and his family farm the 2.5 hectares themselves. One advantage to this strategy is that they control the quality of their harvest in its entirety. They do not need to rely on seasonal labor and pickers to harvest only mature cherry as instructed. They simply do it themselves! Jorge saw the value in producing specialty coffee on a small farm. Considering the relatively small harvest Jorge gets from his 2.5 hectares, the much higher returns from specialty coffee made sense to him. The town of San Lorenzo has already proven its potential to produce outstanding coffee. It has the altitude (2,100 meters above sea level!) and the microclimate. Jorge’s biggest task is preserving the existing quality in his production. He uses cherry and parchment sorting during and post-harvest combined with meticulous processing practices to consistently produce high quality specialty. We were introduced to Jorge’s coffee in 2016 when he was a finalist in the national ‘Land of Diversity’ quality competition. We have been purchasing Jorge’s exquisite harvest since then and are proud to continue our partnership this year.

El Arroyo is equipped with a Penagos ecopulper. The unit mechanically removes most mucilage through a process like pressure washing, greatly reducing the production of wastewater from pulping and fermenting. This wastewater is often filled with nutrients and contaminants that can make it hard to dispose of properly. After pulping, the parchment undergoes a natural fermentation period in tanks for 18 to 24 hours. It is then washed briefly in clean water. The parchment is dried on a concrete patio. To ensure even and timely drying, the beans are covered to protect them from rain and are turned regularly throughout the day.

Azahar Colombia works directly with producers to source excellent, traceable coffee from Colombia’s best producing regions. They pride themselves on transparent relationships that improve incomes and quality.

In addition to their exporting arm, Azahar also operates a roastery in Quindío and several cafés in Bogotá that serve superb locally-produced coffees to Colombian consumers.