Amici Coffee Columbian Speciality Coffee

Colombian Inza

 

What we tasted: Dark Chocolate, Blackberry & Grapefruit

Processing: Washed

Varietal: Caturra, Typica, Castillo

Producer: Jesus Volveras, Freddy Pencue

Altitude: 1500-1800 MASL

Ideal for: All Brew Methods

 

 

The municipality of Inzáis located in the corner of the Department of Cauca, bordering with Tolima and Huila andlooking out to the west over the Pacific Ocean. Situated on the “Macizo Colombiano” (the Colombian Plateau), which surrounds the high peaks of Tolima and Huila, the region is an important source of water and wildlife, in addition to being prime coffee growing land.

 

This coffee was produced by 52 smallholder coffee producers hailing from the neighbouring sub-municipalities of Pedregal (70%) and San Antonio (30%). Every single microlot delivered was cupped and reserved due to its scoring 85 points or above bythe community cupping lab, funded by Mercanta Exporting Partners, Pergamino, who are based in the Department of Antioquia.

 

These stringent standards result in very limited quantities of this exceptional blend of 70%+Caturra and approx 30% Variedad Colombia being made available for export. Cauca’s violent past, with a heavy presence of FARC guerrillas, had historically prevented the FNC (Colombia’sexcellent national coffee board) and specialty-focused exporters from establishing a presence in the region. As violence has diminished, it has enabled the growers in the region to seek increased access to markets for quality, not only taking advantage of the region’s wonderful coffee-growing conditions but also the economic resource that near by tourist destinations bring (for instance, the World Heritage Site“ Parque Nacional Arqueológico de Tierradentro”).

 

Like all producers in Colombia, Pergamino spent many years helplessly riding the roller coaster of international coffee prices. They had to invest, year after year, in their crops without knowing what price they would secure. As the saying goes in Colombia, there were years of lean cows and years of fat cows–the former being more common than the latter. They often sold their coffee to large exporters, never understanding its unique sensory coffees, nor in whose hands it ended up for what price. When they began selling their coffee directly to importers and roasters, everything changed. When they extended the model to small holder farmers in Antioquia, they also changed everything for them. Today, Pergamino works with more than 600 smallholder farmers in four Departments (Cauca, Antioquia, Huila and Nariño), and their influence continues to grow.

 

 They have developed the relationship with the communities over time, providing invaluable feedback on quality and training in quality assessment. They are committed to transparency in their partnerships with these farmers, ensuring that profit margins are clear and that value added by quality goes directly to the producer. The premiums that Pergamino pays (and that Mercanta pays) range from 30-300% overmarket prices (depending on cupping score and volume).