Coming soon! Archives - Arango Specialty Coffee

60 | El Balso

Producer Walter Vargas	Description Sweet, honey, floral, bakers chocolate
Process Washed	Varietals Castillo, Caturra
Region Antioquia	Elevation 2,100 meters
Position ETA May, 2024	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

Located in Betulia, El Balso originally belonged to Walter’s grandparents. Passed down through generations, it is now home to Walter, his wife, Gloria, their son, and Walter’s mother. As a true family business, everyone helps out with the daily activities and maintenance.

Of the 5,000 coffee trees planted, 2,000 are currently pruned and not producing coffee for this harvest. The other 3,000 consist of Castillo Rosario and Tabi varietals which will account for roughly 8 bags of beans. With this smaller scale production, Walter believes he is better able to focus on both carefully selecting cherries and processing them.

Budgeting for maintenance and upgrades is tough with narrow profit margins, but Walter recently replaced the plastic on one of his two marquesinas (drying bed). He would like to install pipes to transport the picked cherries from the field to the wet mill as well. We are hopeful that our financing opportunities and profit sharing business model will support his endeavors.

REQUEST A SAMPLE

163 | Las Palomas

Coming soon!

Producer Wilfran Trujillo	Description Plum, florals, honey, citrus
Process Washed	Varietals Chiroso
Region Antioquia	Elevation 2,000 meters
Position ETA May, 2024	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

Wilfran grew up around coffee, learning alongside his father and grandfather. In 2013, he moved to Las Palomas and began planting coffee trees in partnership with his father. They are very proud of what they have built together. The farm currently has around 1,500 Chiroso trees producing cherries and another 1,500 that are a year old. Wilfran intends to expand the farm with the addition of 5,000 trees this year.
As the farm grew, so did Wilfran’s family. With his wife and daughter at the farm, life at Las Palomas has come full circle with Wilfran’s daughter learning about coffee alongside her father and grandfather.
Outside of life at Las Palomas, Wilfran enjoys playing music. He is a member of a local band and they love performing.

REQUEST A SAMPLE

28 | La Paloma

Coming soon!

Producer Alfredo Piedrahita	Description Sweet, maple syrup, orange , milk chocolate
Process Washed	Varietals Caturra, Colombia
Region Antioquia	Elevation 2,000 meters
Position ETA May, 2024	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

Growing up at his parents farm, Alfredo inherited his father’s passion for coffee. When the time came to purchase his own land, he chose to stay in the area known for it’s unique fertile soil. However, his 30 years at La Paloma are not something to be taken for granted. In early 2000, violence between illegal groups erupted as they vied for control of the region. Several people were killed including one of Alfredo’s brothers and one of his cousins. After enduring these hardships, there was hope for of stability in the Colombian government’s peace treaty with the FARC in 2016. Unfortunately , different illegal groups are still interested in the illicit enterprises left behind in the wake of the treaty. Alfredo’s resilience and commitment to keep working at his farm are remarkable. We are humbled to work with people like him.

REQUEST A SAMPLE

89 | Bagamenton

Coming soon!

Producer German Garcia	Description Maple syrup, stone fruit, spices, bakers chocolate
Process Washed	Varietals Caturra
Region Antioquia	Elevation 2,300 meters
Position ETA May, 2024	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

Bagamenton has been home to the Garcia family for over 40 years. Nestled at over 2,300 meters above sea level, Bagamenton has the highest elevation of any farm that we have worked with. This above the clouds location plays a fundamental role in the quality of the coffee that is produced at the farm.

German and his siblings were raised at the farm, where they learned the production of coffee. German’s father, Francisco, used to work at the neighboring coffee farms all year round to provide for his family, meanwhile German’s mother, Bertha, took care of the kids and the farm. Sadly, his father passed away in 2006 when German was just 8 years old. As a result, the Garcia family became more dependent on the farm. They started planting more coffee and nowadays they have about 1,700 trees between Colombia, Caturra and Typica varietals.

REQUEST A SAMPLE

116 | La Quinta

Coming soon!

Producer Tiberio Correa	Description Chocolate, honey, molasses, brown sugar
Process Washed	Varietals Colombia, Castillo, Caturra
Region Antioquia	Elevation 1,900 meters
Position ETA: May, 2024	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

Tiberio was raised along with his 12 siblings at his parent’s coffee farm in Ituango, Antioquia. He learned everything about coffee from his father. Now he and his wife are raising their 4 children at their own coffee farm, La Quinta. With 6 hectares planted with coffee, La Quinta has around 25,000 coffee trees of the Colombia, Castillo and Caturra varietals. In addition to coffee, the family produces beans and corn. Some cattle are also raised at the farm. Tiberio is forever grateful for his land. He believes there is no better lifestyle than to be surrounded by fresh air, peace, and nature. On top of that, coffee has given him the resources to educate his kids. Tiberio believes that education is important even if you come back to work at the farm. If you have the knowledge to do things better your quality of life will improve he says.

REQUEST A SAMPLE

31 | El Arrayan

Coming soon!, Under Contract

Producer Jhon Valencia	Description Citric, honey, caramel, cocoa powder
Process Washed	Varietals Castillo, Caturra
Region Antioquia	Elevation 2,100 meters
Position ETA May, 2024	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

One of Finca El Arrayan’s greatest assets is it’s location – high altitude, volcanic soil, ideal microclimate. Unfortunately, the farm’s greatest weakness is also it’s location – previously a FARC stronghold, Ituango is now caught in the post-conflict crosshairs. While the peace treaty brought an agreement between the government and FARC, it has opened the door for new armed groups to move in, each vying for a slice of the illicit enterprise left behind. People now live with a bag packed, ready to leave on short notice, and there have already been a few displacements in the last two years.

Jhon is no stranger to the turbulence of the area. Like many others, his family fell victim to the decades of violence with two of his brothers being kidnapped, one of them being killed. He persisted then and continues to now. Watching the strength and tenacity of Jhon and other farmers in this region has us more committed than ever, regardless of the challenges.

REQUEST A SAMPLE

30 | El Edén

Coming soon!

Producer Francisco Giraldo	Description Chocolate, maple syrup, sugar cane, grapes
Process Washed	Varietals Castillo, Caturra
Region Antioquia	Elevation 1,850 meters
Position ETA May, 2024	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

Our strong relationship with Francisco has helped us work through some particularly challenging times over the past two years. A resurgence of activity among illegal paramilitary groups in the area had a direct impact on the farmers and their families. With multiple displacements during the harvest, Francisco and his wife, Amparo, were forced to leave cherries in the fields, pack their belongings, and move the family to the nearest town in search of safety.

Francisco continues to look towards the future and it does not surprise us that he remains so dedicated in the face of adversity. He has lived through many years of armed conflict and fell victim to a landmine himself in 2009. Lucky to escape with his life, he lost one eye as well as his sense of taste and smell. However, his dedication to his coffee never faltered. He grew up working with coffee alongside his father at El Edén and chose to continue the legacy after his father passed away.

REQUEST A SAMPLE

84 | La Soledad

Coming soon!

Producer Ivan Montoya	Description Floral, lemongrass, maple syrup, honey
Process Washed	Varietals Chiroso
Region Antioquia	Elevation 2,050 meters
Position ETA May, 2024	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

A native of Urrao, Antioquia, Ivan began his coffee endeavors after inheriting a piece of land from his grandparents called La Soledad. Over the last 14 years, Ivan has developed about 3,000 Chiroso trees and credits the elevation of the farm, over 2,000 meters above sea level, as the secret ingredient to the high quality coffee he produces. In addition, the fertile soil allows for diversification as he also produces avocados and naranjilla.

Ivan is certainly proud of the coffee he produces, but he is even more humbled that it allows him to provide for his aging grandparents.

REQUEST A SAMPLE

82 | La Cienaga

Coming soon!

Producer Elena Vasquez	Description Citrus, lime, honey, velvety
Process Washed, Sun-dried	Varietals Caturra, Colombia
Region Antioquia	Elevation 2,200 meters
Position ETA May, 2024	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

Ituango, Antioquia has some of the most beautiful scenery in Colombia. Unfortunately, the remote location also provides ideal conditions for illegal armed groups and their enterprises to flourish, bringing violence to the region. Coffee farmers often find themselves in the cross fire between these groups.
In 2008, Elena Vasquez and her family had to leave their farm after one of their daughters was assassinated at their house. This tragedy was very hard to overcome, yet after 6 difficult years living near the city of Medellin, the family decided that it was time to return to their farm and start all over again. In 2014, they began to plant coffee again, but re-entering the coffee business takes time as the trees do not produce cherries for several years. As they patiently waited for their trees to mature, Elena and her family had to rely on other crops at the farm to get by.
Currently, Elena has around 8,000 coffee trees at La Cienaga, including the Caturra, Variedad Colombia, and Castillo varietals. While the trees yield plenty of cherries, the family struggles to process them as their wet mill and their drying facilities are in need of improvement. We love Elena’s coffee and have high expectations for the development of a long term relationship that will give her the opportunity to improve her facilities.

REQUEST A SAMPLE