Colombian - San Agustin, Huila

  $9.75 (12oz)                 $25.00 (2 lbs)

Colombian

San Augustin, Huila

Through the town of San Augustin runs a river called Los Naranjos. Up the sides of this riverbank in to the mountains is a community of coffee growers with small clean and beautiful farms. Butterflies, Hummingbirds and giant lavender flowers are the norm.

This land is buffeted on the west by a 500 sq. mile biosphere reserve called Cueva de los Quacharo. It is the place where two of Colombia's three mountain ranges converge and where ancient peoples lived and carved giant stone figures. It is a special place and the people who live here believe that the great forest tracts of the natural preserve protect their land from the violence of weather and give them a calm, peaceful place to live and farm.

In 2001, Some of the farmers of this area got together with the intentions of improving their managerial skills and gaining access to the elusive “specialty coffee market,” and they formed an association called La Asociacion Los Naranjos de San Augustin. 

Today there are 50 growers/members with about 150 hectares in coffee. Average size of a farm is 2.8 hectares. Yield is between 1,500 and 2,000 Kg per Hectare during the main crop and about half that during the fly crop. 

This lot is a blend of various Los Naranjos farmers who produced similar cup profiles.  During the fly crop, not enough quantity is produced to merit microlots, so the top cups are combined into one lovely lot.

Most farmers in this region keep a small portion of their best coffee to drink in their homes.  They send out a bit at a time to be roasted by a local community member and have their fresh coffee for the next week.

Source: Cafe Imports