Meet Our Farmers

100 | Bellavista - Black Honey

Ernesto Burbano

Ernesto is one of the younger farmers that we work with and is currently pursuing a degree in agronomy in addition to producing coffee at Finca Bellavista. His classroom education has helped him realize the importance of producing several different varietals to balance out the risk of producing some of the more delicate varietals. As a result, he has planted Castillo, Caturra, and Pink Bourbon varietals with plans to start a hybrid between Gesha and Typica in the nursery.

Ernesto's dedication and willingness to experiment with both new varietals and new processing techniques have yielded great cupping profiles. We see a great opportunity to develop a long term relationship with Ernesto and his great coffee.

101 | Las Gradas - Gesha

William Martinez

Growing up in the countryside, William worked at several coffee plantations. With the support of his father, he started planting his own coffee 15 years ago. Now he calls Las Gradas home along with his wife and two daughters. William has plenty of ambition and there are many upgrades he would like to make to his farm, starting with the addition of a wet mill. He currently uses one at a neighboring farm. The ability to earn a better price for his coffee has him hopeful that he can not only provide for his family but improve his farm as well.

102 | Los Gusmanes

Clodomiro Morales

After inheriting Los Gusmanes from his father, Clodomiro wanted to continue operating it as a self-sufficient farm. He is very conscious about the environmental impact of producing coffee and is working to be a clean producer of coffee. He repurposes the coffee pulp as fertilizer and also has a filtration system for the water used in coffee processing.

Clodomiro also grows sugar cane, yuca, corn, potatoes, and scallions. These crops provide both food for the family as well as a second source of income. He believes that this diversification makes him better at growing coffee because he has more resources. We are excited to work side by side with him as he continues towards his goals.

104 | Los Meneses

Ramon Castillo

At 2,200 meters above sea level, Los Meneses is in the clouds. This elevation has allowed Ramon to produce healthy Caturra trees as the cooler climate helps protect the plants from common diseases. However, in his 40 years at the farm, he remembers a time when it was too cold to grow coffee. The family focused on producing potatoes, cilantro, celery, and yuca. As time progressed, and temperatures started to warm up, they were able to start cultivating coffee as well. In addition to the Caturra trees, Ramon also produces the F4 varietal.

For Ramon, the biggest step towards further improving the quality of his coffee is upgrading his drying facility.

105 | El Chocho

Andres Gomez

Andres inherited El Chocho from his father when he was 26 years old and has plans for expansion. With 4,000 trees of the Castillo and Colombia varietals already, Andres is planning on planting 4,000 more trees of Colombia varietal.

As he continues to develop the farm, Andres would like improve his drying facilities and we hope to help him accomplish this goal (and many more) through the relationship we are building.

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