Jose Efrain Villada FW

Like most other farms in the San Lorenzo region, Finca Santa Rosa is small. Owner Jose Efrain Villada and his family farm the 1 hectare themselves. One advantage to this 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 complete the work to spec themselves!

The combination of land and microclimate at San Lorenzo has already proven its potential to produce outstanding coffee. Combined with Jose's meticulous farming and processing methods, Finca Santa Rosa consistently produces high quality specialty coffee.

Finca Santa Rosa is equipped with a Penagos pulping unit. The unit mechanically removes most mucilage. The unit leaves approximately 5% mucilage. The mucilage that remains after pulping adds to the rich sweetness of this coffee. Villada uses a short dry fermentation to remove the remaining mucilage. It is then washed briefly in clean water.

After washing, the parchment is dried on screens, which helps with even drying. Screens also make is easier to move the drying coffee under cover if it begins raining.

The Nariño department sits in the far south of Colombia. It borders Ecuador and the high Andean peaks. Its closeness to the equator enables coffee cultivation at very high altitudes. Many farms are located at heights surpassing 2,000 meters above sea level. 

While coffee growing is not traditionally seen at such high altitudes, it is possible in Nariño thanks to plenty of sunlight, dependable and frequent rainfall, and rich soils. Furthermore, the landscape helps ensure nights do not get too cold for growing cherry. The heat that accumulates in the bottom of canyons rises into the mountains at night, protecting cherry from the extreme nighttime cold that comes with such a high altitude.

There are no less than three volcanoes in the Cordillera Occidental, a branch of the Andes mountains in Colombia. These volcanoes reach altitudes as high as 4,700 meters above sea level. While volcanic activity can sometimes present hazards to life and coffee farming, the rich volcanic soil full of nutrients provides an excellent growing medium for coffee plants. The nutrients, combined with lower temperatures helps to slowly form coffee fruits and concentrate their sugars. The result is complex, sweet and acidic coffees.