Name: Las Garzas

Producer: Azahar Coffee Company

Origin: Planadas, Tolima

Varietal: Castillo, Caturra, Colombia

Altitude: 1700-2000 metres above sea level

Process: Natural

Flavours: Pineapple, Lime & Violet

Importer: Covoya

Where is it from?

Colombia is the third-largest producer of coffee in the world after Brazil and Vietnam – though holds the crown for being the largest producer of washed Arabica. The coffee-producing areas lie among the foothills of the Andes and the Sierra Nevada, where the climate is temperate with adequate rainfall. Colombia has three secondary mountain ranges (cordilleras) that run towards the Andes and it is amongst these ranges that the majority of coffee is grown. The hilly terrain provides a wide variety of micro-climates, meaning that harvesting can take place throughout the year as coffee from different farms will ripen at varying times.

There are more than half a million growers spread throughout the key regions of Nariño, Cauca, Meta, Huila, Tolima, Quindio, Caldas, Risaralda, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, Cundinamarca, Guajira, Cesar, Madgalena, Boyacá, Santander and Norte de Santander. In a country as large as Colombia, with an established coffee industry that is spread over 17 regions, there is bound to be a variation in quality. However, it is widely accepted that some of the country’s best coffees come from the south-west in the departments of Huila, Tolima, Nariño and Cauca. Key varietals include caturra, bourbon, typica, castillo and maragogype.

Coffee’s importance to the Colombian economy brought about the development of The Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros (FNC) in 1927. This body is responsible for research, technical advisory services, quality control and marketing. Juan Valdez, a fictitious character created by the FNC, is the world-famous moustachioed, mule-riding and sombrero-wearing coffee farmer depicted on coffee sacks and logos. He has very much become the face of the Colombian coffee industry, especially outside of the country.

This special natural processed lot is from Azahar Coffee Company and their partner farmers in Gaitania, in Planadas, south Tolima. These farmers, most of whom continue a family tradition of coffee cultivation, are based at elevations up between 1,700 and 2,000masl and grow the varieties of Colombia, Castillo and Caturra.

For this natural process, th cherries are fermented for 38 hours, then dried for eight days on raised African beds under canopy.

 

The Region

Located 331 kilometers from the capital city of Bogotá, in the southern part of Tolima, Gaitania boasts altitudes that range from 1,400 m.a.s.l at the town center, all the way up to 5,355 m.a.s.l. 50% of the Nevado de Huila, is actually found in Gaitania and as the third tallest mountain in Colombia, surpassed only by the Colón and Bolivar peaks in the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, this is a great source of pride as well as of water for the surrounding region. Today, the strength of the regional economy comes from Gaitania’s coffee production, but during the pricing crisis of the 90s, many coffee farmers found themselves planting opium poppy, a crop that brought more hardship to the area. The “fever” for this crop died down after five years and the coffee producers of Gaitania returned to growing their preferred crop. We are happy to support coffee production in the region. 

Roast

Light/Medium


Brew

Filter & Espresso