Esmeralda Salgar Excelso

Green Coffee Company (GCC) is a farm collective founded in 2018 in Salgar, Antioquia. They operate 11 farms in the region. Their farms are ideally suited to take advantage of the high altitudes and ideal microclimate for cultivating sweet, dense cherry.

GCC is making waves in the coffee industry by creating formal employment agreements with their laborers. With legal contracts that establish wages and work hours, laborers have much more security and access to essential services including healthcare, insurance and pension plans. They can also receive vacation days, paid leave and protections against being wrongfully fired. GCC’s plan to formalize labor contracts for all employees will improve living and working conditions for laborers while also making coffee production safer and ensuring adequate labor for the season.

At GCC, 20% of their land is devoted to forest preservations that protect the many natural springs nearby.

They utilize new Ellepot technology to cultivate seedlings in a plastic-free nursery. With Ellepot, seedlings are cultivated and planted without using plastic bags, reducing their environmental impact.

GCC uses intelligent crop management by utilizing technology that measures soil pH, wind movements, moisture levels and temperature at each farm. With this data, they can make informed decisions about planting, fertilizer application, harvesting and more.

GCC has 4 on-site well mills that process ripe, red cherry from their 11 farms. In 2021, they purchased new milling equipment to handle increased volume and enable them to separate lots to maintain traceability.  

Once picked, cherry is pulped and fermented. Then, coffee is washed in clean water to remove remaining mucilage and laid to sun dry. Parchment is raked frequently to ensure even drying.

Located in the Andes Mountain range, Antioquia has a wealth of microclimates. The change in microclimates is visible to naked eye by watching the roadside vegetation changing along a drive on winding mountain roads. Thanks to the humid climate and high altitudes near 2,000 meters above sea level, there’s pretty amazing and diverse coffees to be found.  

Sergio Fajardo, governor of Antioquia department, is determined to prove just how remarkable Antioquia is. He launched a campaign that invests in educating people across all stratas of society. Everywhere you drive in Antioquia, you’ll see banners and stickers that proudly declare “Antioquia, la más educada.” The phrase translates directly to: “Antioquia, the most educated” and it highlights that Antioquia is the most educated department in Colombia. The focus on education in Antioquia translates into a focus on sharing knowledge that can improve coffee production and quality.  

Widespread education in Antioquia directly affects coffee quality. The first phase of Fajardo’s program is focused on coffee. Coffee is the most important source of revenue for the region. The program focuses on making more traditional farmers aware of new farming practices, of more ecologically responsible methods, new varieties, and so on. The goal is to improve the general quality of the coffee produced in the region and to inspire the younger generations to follow in their parents’ footsteps.