colombia finca villa esperanza

COLOMBIA FINCA
VILLA ESPERANZA
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NUTS AND BOLTS
VILLA ESPERANZA
R E G I O N : EASTERN ANDES CORDILLERA
V A R I E T A L : CATURRA
P R O C E S S : FULLY WASHED AND MECHANICALLY DRIED
A L T I T U D E : 1400M
FARM/COOP:
FLAVOR OVERVIEW
CHERRY, CARAMEL, COCOA
MEDIUM
A C I D I T Y : BRIGHT
FLAVOR:
BODY:
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PRODUCER STORY
Andrew Carlos Vidal owns Villa Esperanza. With three farms totaling 23 hectares
(56 acres) he is a fairly large grower in the municipality of Garzon Huila. Andrew is a
member of Coocentral Cooperative in Colombia. Coocentral operates largely like
the producer’s bank with green coffee buyers paying the co-op directly. A portion
is given to the farmer and a portion goes into programs to support and improve the
community. Farmers and their families decide how Coocentral spends on these
improvements. When a farmer produces an especially stellar cup the premium paid
is publically awarded to him in the form of a giant check. This helps incentivize
other farmers by demonstrating how the initial sacrifice made for quality can be
greatly rewarded. The co-op also offers producers credit during lean times between
harvest cycles, times which can be especially difficult for farmers whose only crop
is coffee. In addition, Coocentral covers 100% of the family’s health insurance
premiums for full members and 50% for partial members. Established in 1975 with
only 55 members the coop has grown to more than 3,000 with numbers steadily
climbing. This growth alone illustrates how well integrated Coocentral is into the
community and as well as the farmers’ livelihood.
ORIGIN INFO
Situated on both sides of the equator most regions in Colombia have two harvests
per year as opposed to the typical one of other coffee growing countries. Yearround rainfall and diverse microclimates essentially mean coffee grows year round
in Colombia. Colombia is the third largest coffee-producing country in the world. It
was second only to Brazil but that title has recently gone to Vietnam. Don’t expect
to see coffee from Vietnam at Metropolis anytime soon though. They almost
exclusively produce Robusta beans, an inferior product to the Arabica beans used
in specialty coffee. Throughout Colombia an estimated 2,000,000 people depend
on coffee for their livelihood with it making up about 12.5% of the agricultural gross
domestic product