Under Contract Archives - Arango Specialty Coffee

63 | La Divisa – Caturra

Producer William Rueda	Description Sweet, floral, molasses, apple
Process Washed	Varietals Caturra
Region Antioquia	Elevation 2,200 meters
Position Spot	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

William has been working with coffee all his life. Coffee has given William the opportunity of providing for his family. He lives at La Divisa with his wife Gloria and their three children Juan, Maria y Emanuel. William wants his children to continue the family tradition of growing coffee. He is helping them to grow their own small lots of coffee.

Wilmar lives at La Loma with his wife, Erika, and two daughters, Valentina and Luciana. He has been working with coffee for about 17 years but is only beginning his journey into specialty coffee. He is diving right in and already making improvements to enhance the quality of his coffee. We are very excited about our new relationship with Wilmar and see a lot of potential. The location of the farm, at over 2,000 meters above sea level, and the coffee varietals grown already bring a lot to the table. The future at La Loma is certainly bright.

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17 | La Esmeralda

Under Contract

Producer Arquímedes España	Description Honey, cherry, milk chocolate, caramel
Process Washed, sun-dried	Varietals Colombia, castillo
Region Nariño	Elevation 1,800 meters
Position Under contract	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

At just two and a half hectares, La Esmeralda is a small farm. Nevertheless, it is home to Arquímedes, his wife, Tatiana, and their young daughter. They are proud of the effort invested to transform this property into both their business and home.

Arquímedes is aware that every detail matters when producing coffee and is continuously planning upgrades for La Esmeralda, starting with the addition of more drying beds. His goals are to increase efficiency and further improve quality. He participated in the Cup of Excellence competition in the past and hopes to return again.

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65 | La Primavera

Under Contract

Producer Lizardo Montoya	Description Floral, brown sugar, molasses, green tea
Process Washed	Varietals Chiroso
Region Antioquia	Elevation 2,000 meters
Position Under contract	Warehouse Continental, New Jersey

Lizardo lives with his wife Luz Dary at La Primavera. They have been working with coffee for about 11 years and currently have trees of the Chiroso varietal at the farm. Chiroso is a relatively new varietal which is endemic to the region of Urrao, Antioquia, Colombia. A natural mutation of old-growth caturra, the beans are larger and have an oblong shape.

As this varietal gains recognition from importers and roasters, Lizardo is excited about the opportunity to grow relationships that will lead to sustainable prices. With a more predictable income, he would be able to budget for upgrades to the drying facilities at La Primavera. Even at 56 years of age, he is always looking for ways to improve.

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116 | La Quinta

Under Contract

Producer Tiberio Correa	Description Chocolate, honey, molasses, brown sugar
Process Washed	Varietals Colombia, Castillo
Region Antioquia	Elevation 1,900 meters
Position Under contract	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.

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30 | El Edén

Under Contract

Producer Francisco Giraldo	Description Chocolate, maple syrup, sugar cane, grapes
Process Washed	Varietals Castillo, Caturra
Region Antioquia	Elevation 1,850 meters
Position Under contract	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.

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82 | La Cienaga

Under Contract

Producer Elena Vasquez	Description Citrus, lime, honey, velvety
Process Washed, Sun-dried	Varietals Caturra, Colombia
Region Antioquia	Elevation 2,200 meters
Position Under contract	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.

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