Colombian Yara Microlot coffee from Huila (FW, FairTrade) – roasted at Quaffee Buitenverwachting

This Colombian Yara Microlot coffee we sourced via Caravela.

Microlots from Colombia

Working with Caravela, we have been able to source a small collection of microlots from producers they work with. For Quaffee, a microlot is either a coffee that comes from a microregion on a single farm or is a single period of picking from a farm, that produced a remarkable lot.

The producer is rewarded for separating these unique lots by receiving a premium price for the coffee. At Quaffee we love to offer these kinds of coffee, they are special, and the reward back to the farmer promotes higher quality coffees, from the farmer, the region and hopefully the country of origin.

La Plata, Huila, Colombia

La Plata is a town in the municipality of Huila. Huila is in the middle of great coffee growing regions. Within the region is Colombia’s second-highest peak, the Nevado del Huila volcano. Huila hosts the source of Magdalena River (also called Yuma River) which is Colombia’s largest river. The region is known for producing good quality coffee with subtle brightness and more body than other Colombian regions. Our small cooperative coffees we try to always offer from Los Idolos and Los Naranjos come from this region.

The best quality coffee from the region is grown on the central mountain range of the Colombian Andes known as the Magdalena valleys. There is a natural shade of the indigenous forests there.

Finca La Esperanza Story

We visited Edilfonso Yara’s portion of the Finca La Esperanza in 2016 (read about that visit here…). We were impressed with the passion the Yara family had for coffee. This coffee is from Edilfonso’s brother’s part of the farm.

Here is the information Caravela gave us:

For Benedicto Yara, coffee is more than just a something that he grows on his farm or a product that sustains his family, it is part of his life, and it has been part of his life for many years. Over time, Benedicto has created a beautiful business around coffee, and it is proudly called “Yara Coffee”. He works together with his wife Amparo and his son Yeison. Recently, Benedicto suffered a heart attack, and doctors have recommended that he doesn’t work on the farm in the same way that he used to. Luckily, he can rely on his beautiful family who help him in with everything, and they all work towards the same objective that they learned from Benedicto: to produce great coffee and to receive better prices. “As I have learnt from my family, they have
learned from me from the years that I’ve been producing coffee. I trust them because I know that they do a great job producing fantastic coffees” says Benedicto. He owes his farm and his success in coffee to his family, for him it is the most critical asset of any coffee grower, to have those that support you close by.

“I’m personally very grateful to Caravela because they have always been there, in my ups and downs. I feel comfortable knowing that if my quality lowers, they will let me know and come up with recommendations and ways that I can improve” he continues. Since starting out in coffee, Benedicto has changed many things about his infrastructure and processes. He remembers, at the beginning, he had very poor infrastructure and carried out short fermentations. Now, he has changed many things on his farm and knows exactly what to do to produce great coffee.

Details of the coffee:

We have been looking forward to releasing this coffee since we love every Colombian microlot we get, and this coffee is no exception. It has an intense dry fragrance and wet aroma and has mandarin (or naartjie) brightness and a caramelised brown sugar flavour note. The coffee has a medium mouth feel and has a very clean and inviting finish.

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