Hacienda Venecia Catiope HV-48 Anaerobic Natural 

Juan Pablo Echeverri Londoño runs Hacienda Venecia as the fourth generation of his family to work the land. The Echeverri family first settled in Antioquia during the colonial period before moving to Manizales, and Hacienda Venecia has been theirs since the turn of the 20th century. That long connection to one place shapes how Juan Pablo and his team work today: traceability is key and each lot can be traced back to the plot it came from, the people who grew it and the methods used to process it. 
 
For decades Hacienda Venecia produced only Fully washed coffee. Since the early 2000s the farm has focused on specialty coffee, and over time the team added Natural and Honey processing to reach a wider range of buyers. Every step now happens on site: the farm has its own wet mill and dry mill, electronic cherry sorting, controlled fermentation facilities and a cupping lab where the team checks lots cup by cup. Solar panels on the property help power the operation more efficiently with renewable energy. 

The farm sits within the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where Hacienda Venecia works as a hub for agriculture, coffee processing and coffee tourism. Visitors can stay at the hacienda, cup different coffees and tour the coffee plots. 

Hacienda Venecia is situated close to Manizales, in the department of Caldas, with coffee plots between 1,300 and 1,650 metres above sea level. Soils are volcanic and rich in minerals and the farm’s own springs supply its water. Coffee grows under native shade alongside 60 hectares of protected forest, which forms part of a 3,000-hectare biological corridor.  

Catiope HV-48 is one of the farm’s own varieties, developed from a cross between Sarchimor and selected Ethiopian progenies. Juan Pablo began the project in 2015 and since then the team has adapted this selection, along with others such as Catiope HV-55, to the specific microclimate of the farm. 
 
To keep ahead of changing conditions, the team has installed soil sensors at different depths that measure moisture in real time. The farm also records temperature, sunshine hours, wind and rainfall to build a historical database of everything that affects the crop. This data helps Juan Pablo’s team respond to shifts in climate and to pests such as coffee berry borer and leaf rust. 

Juan Pablo and his team selectively hand-pick cherries only at full ripeness for this lot. At the wet mill, electronic cherry selection sorts the harvest before the team floats the cherries to remove any underripes. 

Cherry is then placed in sealed containers for 72 hours. After fermentation, they are delivered to dry either on raised beds in the sun, with workers raking regularly, or in mechanical dryers at a low-and-slow drying temperature. 

Parts of Caldas are located in Eje Cafetero, the Colombian Coffee Growing Axis. Eje Cafetero was the first major coffee-producing region in Colombia. For many years, the region held the distinction of being the most well-known and highly sought-after Colombian coffee region. Tropical rainforest conditions, volcanic soil and a wealth of rivers and streams in Eje Cafetero make the area ideal for coffee growing.

Today, producers in Caldas are increasingly focused on high-quality coffee production. These producers have become common and well-known enough to earn an affectionate colloquial name in the region. They’re called juiciosos (literally: sensible/wise), which in this case means hard-working and attentive to detail. In addition to finding ways to perfect existing processing methods, juiciosos are experimenting with new processing methods and planting new varieties of coffee.