Pomegranate, Chocolate, Black tea

Farm: El Volcán

Owner: Nemecio Borda

Region: Boyacá, Rondón, vereda Centro rural a Nariño

Elevation: 1750 m

Variety: Mix of varieties, Colombia (>50%), Tabi, Týpica, Castillo

Harvest season: December - January

Farm area: 1 ha

Varieties on the farm: Colombia, Tabi, Týpica, Caturra, Castillo, Pink Bourbon, Maragogype

SCA score: 86+

Processing: Washed (fermented)

Importer: Chicas Industry

<p> We are pleased and excited to present our first coffee from Colombia in cooperation with Brno importers Chicas Industry, who focus almost exclusively on Colombian coffees and their import to Europe. <br> </p> <p> Our lot was harvested in January 2021 from a small farm called El Volcán and was fermentation twice. After harvest, the ripe cherries were fermented for 12 hours, then loaded into a water tank, where the 'floaters' (floating low-quality cherries) were removed. In the next step, the outer skin and part of the pulp were removed. This was followed by a second fermentation, this time aerobic, which lasted 24 hours. The coffee was then washed and dried on rooftop beds. </p>

<p> <span style = "text-decoration: underline;" data-mce-style = "text-decoration: underline;"> Importer's note around the processing method </span> </p> <p> As part of the washed process, coffee in Colombia has always been getting fermented after depulping (removing the skin and part of the flesh). Traditionally fermentation lasts 12-18 hours. Introducing fermentation process while cherries are still ountouched and extending the fermentation after peeling, changes the cup profile of the coffee and reveals tones of red ripe fruit. </p> <p> <span style = "text-decoration: underline;" data-mce-style = "text-decoration: underline;"> General information about the farm </span> </p> <p> We consider Mr. Borda's family, together with his wife Luz Marina and their son Edison Borda, to be one of the reasons why we decided to do what we do. We have known each other for over 3 years and this relationship massively influenced Chicas Industry at the beginning of our journey. After the first success with Mr. Borda's coffee, we have tried importing as much of their production as possible this year, next year we expect further growth in terms of the import into Europe. We have always tried supporting the family in their expansion, building new infrastructure and improving the existing one. We have always been exploring new opportunities for both sides of the business as part of our cooperation. The family operates on 4 "farms" or plots of land, which are all just 5 to 10 minutes away from each other. The corner stone of the family business is the farm El Volcán, the birth house with a plantation taken care of by Nemecio. The coffee planted here at elevation of 1750m on an area of ​​about 1 ha is a mixture of varieties, i.e. Colombia, Castillo, Týpica, and we also found Red and Yellow Bourbon, and Maragogype. Currently, the family plans to renovate the El Volcán plantation, plant single-variety lots - for example, the Pink Bourbon variety (this variety had its first harvest this year and is small in the microlot) and preserve some of the original varieties. Another plantation is La Hacienda, which is taken care of by Mrs. Luz Marina. This roughly one-hectare plantation was bought relatively recently (4 years ago) and will also be restored soon. Located in elevation 1620 meters above sea level. At the moment, the family is investing in infrastructure development and is building a small processing station, warehouse and coffee lab in Hacienda for the needs of all 4 family plantations / plots in order to unify and simplify the harvesting processes. The last two plots do not have an area of ​​even two hectares, they are about ten minutes apart and from the original plantations, and we are very much looking forward to the harvest in the future, because lots of varieties such as Laurina, Geisha, Mokka and Wush Wush grow into beauty. These are experiments that are a really big exception in the whole region. Last year I tasted the first harvested coffee from these newly planted lots, this year we have already imported this coffee as part of Mrs. Luz Marina's lot. The farms are located at an average elevation of 1600-1750 m. The village of Rondón, under whose jurisdiction the plantations are located, has a harvest only once a year due to hydrometeorological conditions, unlike most of Colombia. We are very often in contact with the family, especially through their son Edison, who actually brought both parents to a selection of coffee a few years ago. We work with him to improve processing processes, to experiment with new honey and natural processing methods, and to support them in their efforts, we have purchased a hygrometer, a very essential tool for measuring the moisture content of drying coffee. Given that now all their investments and borrowed money go to the construction of a processing station, warehouse and coffee lab, we could help them at least this way. In the future, we at Chicas would like to help them improve their coffee drying infrastructure (we plan to install better drying awnings complete with solar-powered moisture extraction) - if you would like to support the farm, become a customer or otherwise get involved directly with them, get in touch! </p> <p> (source: Chicas Industry) </p>