Notes from Colombia
We had a really successful trip to Colombia this year during the most recent harvest. Visiting Christian Osorio and his family at La Vega was really moving. The previous harvest they had almost no processing capacity, but managed to produce six bags of really exceptional coffee. We purchased this tiny lot and paid what we felt it was worth. This year when we arrived we found a farm transformed! They had built a two story wet processing mill, multiple raised beds, and expanded their farms footprint- planting an entire new area with the pink bourbon variety! We were thrilled that such a small amount was spent so carefully on quality focused infrastructure. This year we increased our price, made an agreement to purchase all coffee scoring 86+ points (about 92 points in wine scoring) that they can produce, and paid them a 10% premium designated to go towards more projects. Most of this years La Vega coffee will be going out in our subscription boxes during the month of August, but some will be available for a limited time in shop and online.
Video of La Vega here
We also visited Ciro and Albiero Lugo at San Pedro where everything seems good! Here we also agreed on an exclusive purchasing commitment. We will be purchasing everything they can produce above 86 points for more than 4x the market price with the same 10% premium. I believe these agreements will result in a willingness to experiment and invest in quality and provide stability and reassurance to these producers. And for us and our customers: more delicious coffee in the years to come!
Purchase the coffee we bought this year from Ciro here
