Rosalba Bados Castillo FW

Finca Buena Vista sits at 1,800 meters above sea level near the town of La Unión in Colombia’s Nariño Department. The farm is small, at 2.5 hectares, but carefully cultivated. Rosalba’s stringent attention to detail ensures the best possible quality, and her membership with Cooperativa COOMERCIACAFE helps her to access up-to-date information on best agricultural practices.

Rosalba selectively handpicks cherry and then pulps it in a traditional drum pulper. Coffee is then fermented in water for 18 to 20 hours, depending on ambient temperature and humidity. Parchment is washed in clean water before being laid in layers in parabolic dryers to dry for approximately 8 days.

When the parchment reaches approximately 12% humidity, Rosalba bags the parchment, which then rests for approximately 10 days at the farm before she delivers it to Cooperative COOMERCIACAFE’s warehouses.

Cooperativa COOMERCIACAFE was established in 2003 to help smallholder farmers across Nariño. The cooperative invests in regional development and increasing incomes for farmers.

Coop COOMERCIACAFE operates with two main objectives. First, it promotes the production and sale of quality parchment coffee. Second, it focuses on value-addition through roasting and grinding coffee. In all its activities, traceability is paramount and is present throughout the cooperative’s work from the field to final product.

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.