FARM : Finca Ranacer
REGION : La Argentina, Huila
ALTITUDE : 1850 MASL
VARIETAL : Gesha
PROCESS : Extended Fermentation Washed
Albaney Fajardo has been a coffee producer for around 15 years. Together with her husband, she operates Finca Renacer, a 2ha farm in the community of Albania in the municipality of La Argentina, Huila.
Albaney is passionate about working with coffee because it has brought tranquility to her life. Alongside her husband, she also works on beekeeping, harvesting honey twice a year and considering them her friends on the farm. Additionally, Alba Ney operates her small sewing workshop where she spends her days working and weaving her dreams during the coffee off-season.
This coffee is fully washed with an extended fermentation period after pulping. Coffee is harvested by Albaney and her husband and processed immediately on the same day. After pulping the coffee is fermented for an average of 64 hours and then thoroughly washed.
The coffee is dried in the sun on raised beds for 14-20 days. Albaney checks a few parchment beans, rubbing them between her hands to reveal the green beans underneath. She assesses their color and decides when to conclude the process. Afterwards, the coffee is tested in the lab to ensure the humidity level meets standards. With precision, she identifies the exact moment to finish the drying process, demonstrating her expertise in this crucial stage.
The Huila region is well known for its coffee quality, but also for being the first historical department in Colombia to begin coffee production. Farmers in Huila are very quality-conscious. Their crops receive a lot of care and attention and they tend to be the most pioneering when it comes to embracing new processing and farming methods. The most relevant municipalities for coffee in Huila are: Pitalito, Garzón, Gigante, San Agustín, La Plata, Paicol, Acevedo, among others.
Huila coffee represents 18% of Colombian production. It is always in high demand and is often preferred as a single origin offering for its balance of acidity and sweetness. The Huilan landscape is dominated by volcanos and mountains, providing a rich terroir of high altitude and fertile soils and offering a wide range of ecosystems where coffee can be grown. There are producing farms ranging from 1,500 m.a.s.l. up to 2,300 m.a.s.l., conferring great attributes to the cup profile such as bright acidity and characteristic sweet notes.
As the fourth largest country in South America, and the third largest coffee producer in the world, there is no mistaking Colombia’s presence in not only scale, but also skill. The country offers a landscape of contrasts; mountains, forests, coastlines, and micro-climates that work to produce some of the world’s most recognisable coffee.
Once the world’s largest producer of washed coffees, Colombia has had to re-energise the coffee sector after a 2009 case of Leaf Rust decimate much of the production. Thanks to large investment, disease resistant varietals of coffee trees have been planted, and volume has increased from a low of around 7.5million bags to over 12 million in 5 years. Colombia used to produce only washed Arabica coffee, from three main geographical areas trisected by the Andes mountain range. Regional coffees have become increasingly popular and are demonstrable of the distinct flavour profiles available throughout the nation. Coffees are typically mild bodied (hence the categorising term ‘Colombia Milds’), with crisp acidity and citric sweetness.
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