COLOMBIA
Single Origin | Espresso

Cupping Notes:

Blood Orange. Cherry. Guava 

Colombia is characterized by its many coffee-producing regions, microclimates, climbing altitudes, and excellent producers. Coffee did not spread in the country until the 19th century, thanks to Jesuit priests who first planted coffee in Colombia the previous century. Today, coffee is grown in 20 of the 35 departments in Colombia and is one of the world’s top producers thanks to its high and year-round yields. Production is dominated by exceptional smallholder producers, growing beautiful coffee throughout the many regions.

As one of the most well-known coffee-producing regions in Colombia – Cauca boasts a stable microclimate, ideal for coffee production. The towering Andes mountains, and proximity to the equator allow for these prime coffee-producing conditions. Cauca’s violent past, with a heavy presence of FARC guerrillas, had historically prevented the FNC (Colombia’s excellent national coffee board) and specialtyfocused exporters from establishing a presence in the region. As violence has diminished, it has enabled the growers in the region to seek increased access to markets for quality, not only taking advantage of the region’s wonderful coffee-growing conditions but also the economic resource that nearby tourist destinations bring (for instance, the World Heritage Site “Parque Nacional Arqueológico de Tierradentro”).

The municipality of Inzáis located in the corner of the Department of Cauca, bordering Tolima and Huila,and looking out to the west over the Pacific Ocean. Situated on the “Macizo Colombiano” (theColombian Plateau), which surrounds the high peaks of Tolima and Huila, the region is an important source of water and wildlife, in addition to being prime coffee growing land.It is here where Neyid Pillimue has his farm, Finca El Carmen, and the source of this lot.

Neyid is a member of the Pillimue family, a prominent group facilitating connections with coffee producers, who work closely with our exporting partner in Colombia, Pergamino.After learning from his family in the town of San Antonio, he moved away toAlto Palmarto buy his own land and start his farm. Thus, Finca ElCarmen was born.He has been living there for over a decade with his four children and four grandchildren. His son, Neyid Jr. is currently being trained by Pergamino in the cupping lab to improve his understanding of coffee quality.There is now a cupping lab at Finca El Carmen, and Neyid Jr. is even assisting other young farmers in the area with coffee quality.Additionally, Neyid is passionate about expanding the varietals in his farm, now growing Caturra, Colombia, Chiroso, and Gesha.

During the harvest, the coffee is carefully handpicked when fully ripe at Finca El Carmen. The cherries are then delivered to the onsite wet mill where they are sorted and de-pulped to remove the external fruit. Next, the coffee is fermented to break down the sticky mucilage, then dispersed on raised beds and dried under plastic. Oncethe ideal moisture content is reached, the coffee is delivered to the Pergamino dry mill in Medellín to be hulled and prepared for export.

Today, Pergamino works with more than 600 smallholder farmers in four Departments (Cauca, Antioquia,Huila and Nariño), and their influence continues to grow. They have developed the relationship with the communities over time, providing invaluable feedback on quality and training in quality assessment. They are committed to transparency in their partnerships with these farmers, ensuring that profit margins are clear, and that value added by quality goes directly to the producer.


In Inzá specifically, Pergamino constructed abio-fertilizer plant.They work with roughly 80 producers who are already organic, to assist with creating organic fertilizer to improve the productivity of their farms. With support from international roasters, Pergamino were able to fund this project, and now offer affordable organic options to producers in the area, reducing overall environmental impact and creating a future for coffee production in Inza.