COLOMBIA
Single Origin | Espresso

Cupping Notes:

Poached Kiwi. Blood Orange. Blackberry 

The department of Tolima is well known in speciality coffee circles due to its ideal, moist, growing conditions. The region sits on the Cordillera Central, in the middle of the three mountain ranges that run from North to South through Colombia, giving it a multitude of microclimates well-suited to high-quality coffee production. These mountains creep up fast, climbing from 1,300 meters above sea level to 2,000 meters above sea level in a matter of 30 or 40 km (although this is on a back road that takes 3 hours). This is partly where the region gets its name, as the word ‘Tolima’ comes from the local indigenous language and means a “river of snow or cloud”. Due to the range in weather conditions, the growing environment changes greatly in different areas of the department. This means that coffee production is broken up into North Tolima (such as where this lot is from) - where generally speaking the main harvest is September through December - and South Tolima, where the main harvest is March through June.

This specific lot comes from Finca La Providencia, belonging to Julio Soscue Villada. He has been managing his farm for 15 years with passion and dedication, growing Caturra and Colombia varietals. Prior to owning his farm, Don Julio worked on various farms throughout Tolima and grew passionate about specialty coffee. Today, he knows maintaining high quality coffee can help improve revenue so he can properly invest in his farm. Don Julio prefers the Caturra varietal thanks to its high productivity and cup quality.

 After the cherries are harvested, they are delivered to the mill where they are sorted and left in piles for a day and a half. The cherries are then fermented for 72 hours before being pulped and dispersed on a flat surface to dry in the open sun. Once the ideal moisture content is reached, the coffee is gathered and sent to the Pergamino dry mill in Medellín to be hulled and prepared for export. 

Colombia is also a common varietal in this region and has been popular for roughly three decades. The varietal was first released by Cenicafé, the national research center, back in 1982. It was the first in Colombia to be crossed with two varietals, one of which being the Timor Hybrid. Thanks to this, the Colombia varietal is tolerant to coffee leaf rust.

This year, Julio's Finca La Providencia is part of our 2025 The Nutcracker festive blend, serving in our retail shop's grinder for you to enjoy.