About This Coffee
Miguel Urquina inherited his small farm when he was younger. A dedicated coffee farmer, he then decided to expand it by purchasing additional land from surrounding farms. Today, his wife and two children help him to maintain Finca Casa Blanca, keeping the farm's many coffee varieties in perfect health.
Cultivation
In addition to growing traditional varieties, such as Caturra and Castillo, Miguel and his wife also have plots of more experimental varieties such as F6, Ombligon and Papayo, which composes this lot.
The Papayo variety is rare outside of Huila and little is known about how it arrived in Colombia. It was originally thought to be a Caturra mutation, but genetic testing by World Coffee Research indicates a close relationship with Ethiopian Landraces. Papayo cherries are distinctive, with an elongated shape. It is assumed that the local name comes from the papaya fruit.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherry is selectively handpicked and pulped on a classic pulper. Then, it is fermented for 10 to 20 hours, depending on ambient temperature. After fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and laid to sundry. Parchment takes an average of 7 to 15 days to dry. Throughout drying, parchment is turned regularly to promote even drying and carefully inspected to remove any damaged beans.
About COFFEESUR
COFFEESUR (Precooperativa Comercializadora de Café del Sur) was founded by Francy Alarcon in 2013. Alarcon’s parents grew up in Colombia’s coffee-growing regions and her dual interest in her heritage and the international export business inspired her to form COFFEESUR.
She identified Acevedo, in Huila, as an area ripe for a specialty coffee revolution. A superb microclimate combined with an existing interest in transitioning to specialty coffee among producers made the area an easy choice.
In addition to exporting green coffee from established farmers, Alarcon has created the “Next Generation” project that focuses on the children of coffee farmers and at-risk youth in the community. “Next Generation” offers young people in coffee-producing communities a chance to be involved in specialty coffee and acts as a stepping stone to a future career in the industry.
Coffee in Colombia
Colombia has been producing and exporting coffee renowned for their full body, bright acidity and rich aftertaste, since the early 19th century.
Colombia boasts a wide range of climates and geographic conditions that produce their own unique flavors in coffee. This also means that harvest times can vary quite a bit. In fact, between all its different regions, Colombia produces fresh crop nearly all year round.
The increasing focus on the specialty industry is changing the way traders and farmers do business. It is becoming more common for farmers to isolate the highest quality beans in their lots to market separately. These higher-quality lots are often sold under specific brands or stories.
Besides its wide variety of cup profiles, Colombia has quickly expanded its certification options over the past 10 years. The most common certifications available are Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Organic.