COLOMBIA SUAREZ

Description

COLOMBIA SUAREZ

Origin – Colombia

Producer – Racafe & CIA. S.C.A.

Process – Washed

Altitude – 1050 – 1850 m.a.s.l

Harvest – January – June

Flavour – Citrus, Lemon, Sweet

Varietal – Caturra, Colombia, Typica

Located to the west of the Central cordillera, Suarez has a great variety of landscapes and cultural resources due to the many rivers cutting through the valleys and mountainsides and the diversity this has created. It has a number of goldmines as well as a gastronomical reputation and produces coffee and cane sugar.

The coffee here is picked by the smallholders with their families and neighbours and generally washed and dried on the farm, often at high altitudes on steep slopes, or brought to a nearby beneficiary for processing. It is then brought to the dry mill or cooperative headquarters for cupping, scoring and sorting for export.

Due to the many microclimates, faces of the slopes, and changing weather patterns, there is often fresh coffee cropping throughout the year, though generally this is split across the main and mitaca (or ‘fly’) crops. Global warming has seen a significant change across Colombia, bringing challenges to some areas and opportunities to others. Earthquakes and landslides have featured in the coffee areas, but the commitment to quality there remains high.

Racafe

Racafe, one of Colombia’s leading exporters of specialty coffee, began life in 1932 when the Espinosa brothers started their first business initiative renting bicycles – by 1953 the attention had turned to coffee, and the company rapidly grew to have milling operations in 9 cities across Colombia. Today it remains a family business, albeit a substantial one – and in 2008 Racafe won the SCAA Roasters Guild Coffee of the Year Award.

Their commitment to quality coffee is matched only by their solidarity with producers in the regions they work to create a truly sustainable marketing approach. In their words “We believe in building a better country through leading by example, respecting the law and transmitting to our families the importance of being a good citizen. We promote environmental management and building community by means of open and respectful communications.”