About This Coffee
Located in Aipe, in Northern Huila, Finca Monte Frio sits at 1,800 meters above sea level. Producer Oscar Leandro Rivas Puentes cultivates Caturra and Castillo varieties on the farm. He named the farm “Monte Frio”, which means “cold mountain” because of the farm’s high altitudes and cool nights.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
During the harvest season, Oscar hires laborers to selectively handpick ripe, red cherry. Once picked, cherry is processed on the farm. Oscar pulps cherry and ferments it in water for 12 to 24 hours. Following fermentation, he washed parchment in clean water and then lays it to dry. Oscar dries parchment on low heat in a mechanical drier for 40 hours before finishing drying on raised beds for 20 days.
Azahar
Azahar Mexico builds trust-based relationships that allow them to understand the comprehensive cost of coffee from each of their farming partners. The prices they pay farmers are the result of year-round conversations with producers about the costs associated with coffee production and with their individual lives.
As a result, of their price structure, Azahar has seen many of their producing partners flourish. “We believe the coffee supply chain should be profitable for everyone who participates in it and have seen prosperity in many of the families [we work with], especially those who depend exclusively on selling their harvest.”
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.