Jose Espinosa Castillo Anaerobic Natural

Jose Espinoza was born on Finca El Recreo. He left the farm at 17 to herd livestock but returned later in life when he inherited the farm from his father. He father planted other crops but Jose believed coffee would be a good choice for his livelihood. When he worked with livestock, he noticed that coffee was being replace by avocado farms and believed that planting coffee was the way to go. In 2016, he and his wife, planted their first coffee trees.

Today, Jose Espinoza and his wife live on Finca El Recreo with their two sons and grandchild. They live in a community surrounded by Jose’s extended family, including his brothers.

Jose has plans to begin purchasing cherry from his neighbors and expand his processing infrastructure.

Jose and his sons first started producing Naturals in June 2020. Now, nearly 80% of their harvest is produced using Natural and Anaerobic Natural processing.

When one of his sons became interested in alternative processing methods, Jose and his sons reached out to Yonatan Gonzales at Cuatro Vientos. Everyone in Algeciras uses Fully washed processing for their coffees, so they had to reach outside their community to gain to knowledge. Yonatan helped them understand yields, costs and sale price and they decided it was a profitable method.

To make their Naturals successful, they’ve expanded their drying capacity and built solar drying modules. In addition to better prices, Jose likes that Natural processing uses far less water than Fully washed processing and is better for the environment.

Ripe, red cherry is selectively handpicked and fermented in anaerobically for 40 hours. Following fermentation, cherry is laid on marquesinas to dry. Cherry is raked frequently to ensure even drying. It takes 20 to 21 days for cherry to dry.

The Huila region is one of the most well-known coffee growing areas of Colombia. The Department of Huila has a population of 1.125 million and is located in the southwest of the country. The capital of the department is Neiva, a city of about 380,000.  

Along with Cauca and Nariño, Huila is one the three departments where the Colombian Massif is located. A massif is a group of mountain ranges and the Colombian Massif, which is known locally as Nudo de Almaguer, provides up to 70% of safe drinking and agricultural water for the Colombian population. 

The Magdalena River, Colombia’s largest river, runs through the region, providing plenty of water for coffee farming and generating (directly and indirectly) up to 86% of Colombia's GDP. The mountain range also features the fertile volcanic soil so typical to the Andean Mountains.