234 | El Mango / Gesha / Natural

Spot Continental NJ

Producer
Gilberto Giraldo		Description
Maple syrup, floral, jasmin, spices, honey
Process
Natural		Varietals
Gesha
Region
Antioquia		Elevation
1,800 meters
Position
Spot		Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Like other farms in the area, Gilberto and El Mango have experienced a couple of challenging years. Dramatic climate changes in the last few years have diminished the production yield considerably. On top of that, the resurgence of activity among armed illegal groups in the region led to multiple displacements from the farm, including once during the harvest last year.

While these obstacles proved difficult to overcome, Gilberto took them in stride and is still planning for the upcoming years. He has new varietals like Chirosos and Pink Bourbon, that are mature now and is excited to experiment with different processing methods. His unwavering commitment to El Mango is evident and we are equally committed to riding out the ups and downs with him.
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233 | El Mango / Chiroso Natural

Spot Continental NJ

Producer
Gilberto Giraldo		Description
Maple syrup, floral, molasses, cola, chocolate
Process
Natural		Varietals
Chiroso
Region
Antioquia		Elevation
1,800 meters
Position
Spot		Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Like other farms in the area, Gilberto and El Mango have experienced a couple of challenging years. Dramatic climate changes in the last few years have diminished the production yield considerably. On top of that, the resurgence of activity among armed illegal groups in the region led to multiple displacements from the farm, including once during the harvest last year.

While these obstacles proved difficult to overcome, Gilberto took them in stride and is still planning for the upcoming years. He has new varietals like Chirosos and Pink Bourbon, that are mature now and is excited to experiment with different processing methods. His unwavering commitment to El Mango is evident and we are equally committed to riding out the ups and downs with him.
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130 | El Edén / Gesha

Spot Continental NJ

Producer
Francisco Giraldo		Description
Floral, lemongrass, honey, citrus
Process
Washed		Varietals
Gesha
Region
Antioquia		Elevation
1,900 meters
Position
Spot
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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215 | Santa Ana – Pink Bourbon

Spot Continental NJ

Producer
Brayan Meneses		Description
Sweet, molasses, grape, floral
Process
Washed, sun-dried		Varietals
Pink Bourbon
Region
Nariño		Elevation
1,960 meters
Position
Spot		Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
At 33 years of age, Brayan is part of the new generation of coffee growers. He is one of the youngest farmers we work with, but that does not mean he is lacking in knowledge. He learned everything he knows about coffee from his grandfather and has fond memories of going to help in the coffee fields after school.

In addition to his hands-on coffee education, Brayan also completed school as a computer technician and wants to pursue a degree in agronomy. With this higher grade of education, he is able to look at the industry from a different perspective. He saw the need to shift from more traditional coffee harvesting to specialty coffee production about 4 years ago and is using his knowledge to improve quality on every level. Since then, he has participated in several competitions in the region over the last couple of years and has placed in the top 10 every time.
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33 | El Mango

Spot Continental NJ

Producer
Gilberto Giraldo		Description
Maple syrup, sugar cane, dry fruit, chocolate
Process
Washed		Varietals
Colombia, Castillo
Region
Antioquia		Elevation
1,800 meters
Position
Spot		Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Like other farms in the area, Gilberto and El Mango have experienced a couple of challenging years. Dramatic climate changes in the last few years have diminished the production yield considerably. On top of that, the resurgence of activity among armed illegal groups in the region led to multiple displacements from the farm, including once during the harvest last year.

While these obstacles proved difficult to overcome, Gilberto took them in stride and is still planning for the upcoming years. He has new varietals like Chirosos and Pink Bourbon, that are mature now and is excited to experiment with different processing methods. His unwavering commitment to El Mango is evident and we are equally committed to riding out the ups and downs with him.
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179 | La Fortuna – Chiroso

Spot Continental NJ

Producer
Maximiliano Vargas		Description
Floral, maple syrup, spices
Process
Washed		Varietals
Chiroso
Region
Antioquia		Elevation
2,100meters
Position
Spot		Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey

Maximiliano has been working with coffee since 2,000. He is grateful coffee gave him the opportunity to provide for his four now grown children and for his wife when she was alive. Maximiliano’s wife Maria Estela died in 2020. Maximiliano has 3,500 chriroso trees at La Fortuna. In 2021 Maximiliano participated in a coffee competitions with his coffee and placed in the top 10.
Maximiliano explains that he is very meticulous with his coffee processing, he picked one day, depulped 24 hours later, let the coffee sit in the fermentation tank for 72 hours, before washing it.
Maximiliano is planning on making some improvements at his farm starting with his drying facilities and also his wet beneficio. He believes these improvements will allow him to improve even more the quality of his coffee.


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15 | El Mango – Pink Bourbon

Spot Continental NJ

Producer
Gilberto Giraldo		Description
Floral, honey, tea, stone fruit
Process
Washed		Varietals
Chiroso
Region
Antioquia		Elevation
1,800 meters
Position
Spot		Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Like other farms in the area, Gilberto and El Mango have experienced a couple of challenging years. Dramatic climate changes in the last few years have diminished the production yield considerably. On top of that, the resurgence of activity among armed illegal groups in the region led to multiple displacements from the farm, including once during the harvest last year.

While these obstacles proved difficult to overcome, Gilberto took them in stride and is still planning for the upcoming years. He has new varietals like Chirosos and Pink Bourbon, that are mature now and is excited to experiment with different processing methods. His unwavering commitment to El Mango is evident and we are equally committed to riding out the ups and downs with him.
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63 | La Divisa – Caturra

Spot Continental NJ

Producer
William Rueda		Description
Sweet, floral, honey, 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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60 | El Balso

Under Contract

Producer
Walter Vargas		Description
Sweet, honey, bakers chocolate
Process
Washed		Varietals
Castillo, Caturra, Tabi
Region
Antioquia		Elevation
2,100 meters
Position
Under Contract		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.
 
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64 | La Cartagena

Spot Continental NJ

Producer
Jorge Cartagena		Description
Dark chocolate, maple syrup, spices, floral
Process
Washed, sun-dried		Varietals
Caturra, Colombia
Region
Antioquia		Elevation
1,950 meters
Position
Spot		Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Like many of the farmers we work with, Jorge learned the art of producing coffee from his father. However, after inheriting his father’s small coffee farm, he chose to sell it. With the money from that sale he was able to purchase La Cartagena, a farm that has allowed him to pursue the production of specialty coffee. He now has 4,500 coffee trees planted – a combination of Caturra and Colombia varietals. As he continually works to enhance the quality of his coffee, Jorge already has plans to improve both his water supply and his wet beneficio. Proud of his profession, Jorge is also teaching his children how to grow coffee. He hopes the family tradition will continue for many generations to come.
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