Antonio Gutierrez Nariño FW

José Antonio and Rosita Solarte, the grandparents of Finca La María’s current owners, began cultivating coffee on Finca La María in 1987.

Antonio used to work for the Solarte’s roasting operation. A lifelong learner, Antonio is fascinated by experimental processing and while he’s not received an ‘official’ training, his passion for reading and experimenting has driven him to amass considerable knowledge on the topic.

The Solartes are dedicated to embodying best agricultural practices to help preserve the environment and engender social sustainability in coffee production. The farm uses organic fertilizers and has been chemical pesticide-free for nearly a decade.

In addition to coffee, the Solarte family also cultivate citrus, avocado, maize and plantains on Finca La María.

After selectively handpicking ripe cherry, the Solarte family delivers fresh cherry to Antonio, who processes cherry on his nearby farm. Antonio is constantly reading and experimenting to keep up to date on the most innovative processes.

Antonio pulps ripe cherry and ferments the coffee using a slow and controlled fermentation process. Following fermentation, he washes parchment is clean water and lays it in layers in a parabolic dryer. He rakes drying parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 12 days for parchment to dry.

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.