This coffee was produced by Rebeca Gómez with the help of husband Jesús Muñoz. Rebeca is a member of the AMACA (Asociación de Mujeres Productoras Agropecuarias del Cauca) women’s association, a group of producers who grow and process coffee in the municipality of El Tambo, in Cauca state, in the south of Colombia. Her farm “La Albania” is just two and a half hectares in size, located in the small town of La Independencia at an elevation between 1,750-1,900m above sea level.

Coffee cherries for this lot were selectively hand-harvested, with most labour being provided by Rebeca and her family. These were processed using the washed method at La Albania’s ‘micro-beneficio’ (mill).

The coffee was pulped using a small manual or electric pulper and then placed into a fermentation tank, where it was fermented for up to 48 hours (depending on the weather) before being washed using clean water from nearby rivers and streams.

The coffee was then carefully dried (over 10–18 days) on parabolic beds, which are constructed a bit like a ‘hoop house’ greenhouse, and act to protect the coffee from the rain and prevent condensation dripping back onto the drying beans. The greenhouses are constructed out of plastic sheets and have adjustable walls to help with airflow and temperature control to ensure the coffee can dry slowly and evenly.

Once dry, the coffee was delivered to Pergamino’s warehouse in Medellín, where it was cupped and graded. Once approved, coffee rested in parchment until it was ready for export.

Credit : Melbourne Coffee Merchants