Leonardo Reyes Nariño FW

Coffee production has always been a part of Leonardo’s life. As a young man, he helped out on his father’s coffee farm and later, struck out on his own as a coffee picker. At 25, he returned to his father’s farm in Nariño and began cultivating a lot with 1,000 coffee trees that his father had given him. Now, a father of 3 children himself, Leonardo cultivates coffee at his farms, Finca Ojo de Agua and Finca El Nacedero, using the knowledge his learned from his father and his experience working as an iterant coffee picker.

In addition to coffee, Leonardo also cultivates oranges, plantains, avocado and lemons.

After selective handpicking, cherry is lightly fermented for approximately 3 days. Then, cherry is pulped on an ecopulper and fermented in tanks for 3 days. Parchment is washed in clean water and laid in thin layers on a drying patio. Leonardo rakes drying parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 12 to 15 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.