About This Coffee
The 60 members of Café de Macizo cultivate Fairtrade Organic coffee at 1,400 to 2,100 meters above sea level in Tolima. Café de Macizo was founded in 2003 to help producer-members cultivate and market coffees at sustainable rates.
Tolima lies deeply nestled in the Central Andes. While the climate is well suited for coffee production, Tolima has remained a less popular region due to the prevalence of armed conflict and drug trafficking. Many farming communities have been caught in the crosshairs of these conflicts.
Members of Café Macizo use Fairtrade Organic practices to produce certified coffees and improve their livelihoods. Members are spread across communities in Tolima. In total, there are more than 300 hectares producing coffee with a production potential of 750,000 kilograms annually.
Members also have access to a community economic fund that supports partner farmers during difficult times.
Cultivation
Tolima’s high altitudes and ideal microclimate create superb conditions for cultivating specialty coffee. Soils are nutrient rich with plentiful topsoil and water is accessible.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Coffee is selectively handpicked by smallholder producers and their families. Once picked, ripe, red cherry is processed on individual farms. Most farmers use a small drum pulper to pulp cherry. Then, they place coffee in tiled or cement tanks to ferment. Following fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and then laid on patios or marquesinas on the roof of their home. Producers rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying.
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.