Farm: El Reposo

Farmer: Elias Flechas

Elias Flechas, 62, has two sons, 35 and 38; and one daughter who is 21. He has 20 years of experience in the growing industry and has cultivated various crops including fruit and palm trees. For the past seven years, he has dedicated himself to growing coffee in the Rio Negro municipality. This is located just north of Bucaramanga, Colombia.

About two years ago, with the help of his son Daniel, Elias decided to transform his farm in order to compete in the specialty coffee market. Since this time he has worked with employees to pick only the mature beans that offer the best flavor for the cup profile. He also has instituted other quality processes such as washing the cherries (coffee beans with the pulp still on them are called “cherries.”) immediately when they are brought in from the farm, monitoring all processes to check for cleanliness, separating lots of coffee into smaller groups and drying coffee naturally in sun beds. He also recently started experimenting with longer fermentation in the process of de­pulping and he has begun tracking his cup profiles. “

Varietal: Caturra

Region: Santander

Altitude: ≈5019 ft

Acidity: Medium

Profile: Dark, smoky aroma, peppered with bright citrus notes and a smooth chocolately finish