Caicedo Community Blend

Farm: Caicedo Community Blend
Owner: 9 Small holder producers
Location: Caicedo, Antioquia, Colombia
Altitude: 2200masl
Varietal: Caturra, Colombia
Process: Fully Washed
Roast: Omni
Notes of: Apricot and molasses

We sourced this coffee through Mercanta Coffee Hunters who had the following to share:

In the western reaches of the well-known coffee-producing region of Antioquia is the municipality of Caicedo. The rugged mountains and high altitudes make this an ideal coffee producing area for Colombia. Yet, in the 1990s and early 2000s, violence hit Caicedo when illegal groups fought for control of the land. Local farmers were terrorized, the state governor was kidnapped and sadly killed during a peace march for the protection of coffee farmers.

Thankfully, this violence is in the past, and Caicedo is now a place of peace and prominence. This is thanks, in part, to coffee and the increase in specialty coffee production. This area is one of the highest that our exporting partners in Colombia, Pergamino, work with. There is a deep canyon, that juts down below towards the Cauca River, allowing for warm air to rush up to higher altitudes. A magnificent and beautiful region, indeed.

Pergamino specifically work with roughly fifty independent producers in Caicedo, yet this lot is comprised of nine producers’ lots. Each producer will harvest and process their own coffee and deliver it to the Pergamino collection station. During the harvest, the cherries are carefully handpicked, and then washed and pulped to remove the external fruit. Next, the coffee is fermented for 48 hours, to breakdown the sticky mucilage. After fermentation, the coffee is dried in the open sun until the ideal moisture content is reached. The coffee is then transported to the Pergamino dry mill in Medellín, to be hulled and prepared for export.