Colombia

Rogelio Espinosa Geisha Anaerobic Natural

Rogelio and Leidy Johanna Espinosa are laser-focused on producing high-quality lots at Finca La Bonita. They grow Geisha and Java, two high-performing varieties, and process it to match. The quality of this Geisha Anaerobic Natural is exquisite.

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Details

Coffee Grade:
EXC.UGQ
Farm/Coop/Station:
Finca La Bonita
Varietal:
Geisha
Processing:
Anaerobic Natural
Altitude:
1,400 meters above sea level
Owner:
Rogelio & Leidy Johanna Espinosa
Subregion/Town:
Algeciras
Region:
Huila
Farm Size:
2 hectares
Bag Size:
35kg GrainPro
Harvest Months:
Year-round, depending on the region

About This Coffee

Rogelio and Leidy Johanna Espinosa cultivate Java and Geisha varieties at Finca La Bonita. Since they bought the farm, they have been invested in growing and processing high-quality coffees, including Anaerobic Naturals like this lot.

They named the farm Finca La Bonita, which is Spanish for “pretty”, after the gorgeous views that you can see from the farm’s flat, picturesque lands. Rogelio contends that you cannot find a more beautiful place to work than Finca La Bonita.

Cultivation

Rogelio and Leidy Johanna cultivate Geisha and Java on the farm. Both these varieties have a ton of potential, so their cultivation is focused on fulfilling that potential through Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and plenty of shade trees.

Harvest & Post-Harvest

Hired pickers selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and deliver it to their on-site wet mill. Pickers are encouraged to select only ripe cherry and, at intake, cherry is meticulously sorted again so that fewer than 1% of cherry processed is unripe. Once selected, cherry is placed inside sealed plastic bags and fermented for 100 hours. Follow fermentation, cherry is spread on raised beds to sun dry. Cherry is raked frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 12 days for cherry to dry.

About Huila

The Huila region is one of the most well-known coffee growing areas of Colombia. The Department of Huila has a population of 1.125 million and is located in the southwest of the country. The capital of the department is Neiva, a city of about 380,000.  

Along with Cauca and Nariño, Huila is one the three departments where the Colombian Massif is located. A massif is a group of mountain ranges and the Colombian Massif, which is known locally as Nudo de Almaguer, provides up to 70% of safe drinking and agricultural water for the Colombian population. 

The Magdalena River, Colombia’s largest river, runs through the region, providing plenty of water for coffee farming and generating (directly and indirectly) up to 86% of Colombia's GDP. The mountain range also features the fertile volcanic soil so typical to the Andean Mountains. 

About Cuatro Vientos

Cuatro Vientos is a family-owned exporter based in Colombia. Founded in 2018 by Julian & Yonatan Gonzalez and based in Huila, the company is named after the Gonzalez’s first farm, where the brothers spent much of their childhood.  Yonatan and Julian learned much of what they know from their father, Armando Gonzalez who was a “pergaminero,” someone who bought and sold parchment coffee. Sucafina has worked with Cuatro Vientos since 2021.

Cuatro Vientos has 3 purchasing points in Huila: Acevedo, Santa Maria and Algeciras. With these three locations, they are able to source fresh coffee for about half the year. They also own 2 warehouses that are strategically placed in Acevedo (in Southern Huila) and Campo Alegre (in Northern Huila). The warehouses provide an array of important services to farmers. Farmers can dry their coffee on the warehouses’ patios, store dried parchment in silos and learn to grade and evaluate coffees in the cupping labs. 

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, in turn, 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, UTZ and Organic.

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