Valle del Cauca, Café Granja la Esperanza

Valle del Cauca is a department located near the Pacific coast in Colombia.This department is known to produce sugar cane, but it also produces coffees with special characteristics that have awaken the interest of coffee hunters.

“CAFÉ GRANJA LA ESPERANZA” is in the municipality of Trujillo. Since 2007 this farm has started to produce specialty Coffee, exporting directly to the world. Owned by fourth generation coffee growers, brothers Rigoberto and Luis.

 A legacy from generation to generation, and the combination of research, science and sustaintable practices applied to their coffee has allowed Café Granja la Esperanza to conquest the hearts of many coffee lovers with exotic flavors and unique aromas.

Photo credit: Cafe finca la Esperanza

On this coffee farm, to conserve local forest and fauna, the coffee is planted under natural shade. The coffee beans mature more slowly in the shade, sugar content is increased which enhances the flavor of the coffee.

Photo credit: Cafe finca la Esperanza

The Process

Handpicked, cherries are hand sorted and floated to remove less dense and damaged beans, then depulped, fermented for 24 hours, washed and mechanically dried with low heat for 48 hours.

Solar dryers are the most popular way for coffee to dry, but in recent years this farmer has shifted to mechanical dryers to have tighter control of the heat and humidity.

Farmers can influence the cupping notes by using standardized fermentation methods that allow sweetness, acidity, and other favorable flavors  to be highlighted.

Cupping notes: According to the SCA (specialty coffee asociation) coffees scored greater than 80 points are consider specialties. It is also a term for the highest grade of coffee available across the entire supply chain.

Each batch is tightly evaluated by professional coffee cuppers looking for the balance beetween sweetness, acidity, body, and pronounced fragancies & aromas.

 

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Photo credit: Cafe finca la Esperanza

Hope you have enjoyed this reading and you have a better understanding of why our Coffee is special.