Huila

Of the many growing regions in Colombia, the mountainous department of Huila in the south west of the country grows the most coffee. Huila enjoys a wide diversity of micro-climates, temperatures, altitudes and coffee varieties. In fact, coffee is grown in 35 of Huila's 37 municipalities. All of this means that the coffee coming out of this region is as diverse as the variables that influence its production.

Pacamara

A hybrid of Maragogype and Pacas originating in El Salvador. Pedigree selection has never been finalized and as such the variety is not stable from generation to generation. Nonetheless, Pacamara - known for its large seed size and exceptional quality potential - consistently dominates Cup of Excellence competitions. Unfortunately, Pacamara is highly susceptible to Coffee Leaf Rust.

Washed

Alirio picks cherries as ripe as can be, and does an initial float in water to remove the over- and under-ripe cherries. From there, he leaves the cherries to start the initial fermentation process in a plastic bag for 36-40 hours, depending on the weather he’s careful to keep the bags with cherries especially cool during this initial fermentation period. From there, he de-pulps the coffee, and then ferments it for an additional 36-40 hours before washing it. To identify the best time to de-pulp the coffee, he takes some and places it in water to see if the mucilage of the sample washes off easily- he also says that he tastes it to see if the coffee has a prickly, bright taste to it. From there, his coffee is sun-dried for around 15 days, and then dried under shade cloth for 10 more days. Parchment coffee is stored in Grain Pro bags at home to ensure that humidity is stable at around 11%.