It is thanks to our importing partner Apex Coffee that we are pleased to present for the first time this exceptional coffee from Nariño, in the Colombian Andes.
The department of Nariño benefits from volcanic soils rich in minerals from the eruptions of the Galeras volcano, which are essential to the exceptional quality of the coffees from the region. El Cortijo brings together several producers from the rural areas of Villa Moreno, in the municipality of Buesaco, including Ximena Cifuentes, Luis Antonio Martínez, and Noé Montánchez. Their farms are small family plots of no more than 1.5 hectares, located between 2100 and 2400 meters above sea level, making it one of the highest coffee-growing areas in Buesaco. At this altitude, the maturation of the cherries can take up to 5 weeks, and the nighttime frosts pose a constant challenge for the producers, who face it with specific fertilizers and shade crops to protect the plants.
The cherries are hand-picked at full ripeness, then washed and sorted by flotation on the same day. They are then mechanically depulped without water, before being transferred to open tanks — the tinas — where they ferment throughout the week, with each day’s harvest being added to the previous one. Once fermentation is complete, the coffee is washed with potable water to remove the remaining mucilage, then dried in the sun for 8 to 15 days, depending on weather conditions, with frequent turning to ensure even drying.
