123 | El Carpintero

Producer
Laureano Gomez
Description
Sweet, cherry, caramel, bakers chocolate
Process
Washed
Varietals
Variedad Colombia
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,950 meters
Position
Spot
Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Despite growing up in the San Lorenzo region, Laureano went to work in the Quindio department of Colombia when he was younger. This area is part of the Eje Cafetero (Coffee Axis or Coffee Triangle) as it is where the majority of Colombian coffee is produced. Needless to say, he learned a lot about coffee during those years.

In 1985, Laureano returned to San Lorenzo and was able to buy the land that is now El Carpintero. Thirty-eight years later, he still calls the farm home along with his wife, Maria. They raised their two daughters there and are now empty-nesters as both daughters are grown.

Currently planted with 7,000 trees of Variedad Colombia, coffee was not always the main crop at El Carpintero. Laureano recalls a time when coffee was not grown in the region at all as the climate was too cold. He said weather has changed a lot during the years, getting warmer and warmer, making the area hospitable to coffee trees.

16 | El Plan

Producer
Patricia Benitez
Description
Sweet, caramel, maple syrup, bakers chocolate
Process
Washed, sun-dried
Varietals
Castillo, F4
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,750 meters
Position
Spot
Warehouse
Continental Terminals, New Jersey
Coffee has always been a way of life for Patricia. Growing up on her father’s farm, she helped with the day to day activities with her siblings. After he passed away, Patricia inherited a portion of her farm where she started El Plan fifteen years ago.
As of 2023 Patricia and her husband Alex have 9,000 trees of coffee planted at El Plan of the varietal Castillo F4.

Coming full circle, she and her husband Alex now provide for her family with coffee production. However, Patricia, like many other Colombian coffee farmers, faces new challenges that are shrinking profits; climate change and the ever increasing costs of production are the main contributors to the declining margins. As we enter our fourth year working with Patricia, and been able to pay above market price for her coffee, we witnessed the importance that coffee has played in the oportunitites for the family. Patricia and Alex have been able to pay for the education of their son in a private university with the proceeds of coffee. Something that was unthinkable of a generation ago. We are humble and proud of working with farmer’s like Patricia an hope to impact many other farmers life giving them the opportunity of having a sustainable business model.

07 | El Naranjo

Producer
Evelio Bados
Description
Floral, sweet, molasses, grapes
Process
Washed
Varietals
Castillo, Colombia
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,900 meters
Position
Spot
Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
El Naranjo began over 38 years ago as just a vision. Evelio invested in an untouched lot and worked very hard to clear the land and eventually plant coffee. He was working double duty during this time as he was also employed at other farms in order to provide for his family. After watching his dream come to fruition, Evelio hopes that his children will continue his legacy and produce coffee at El Naranjo in the future. For this reason, he continues to look for opportunities that will allow for sustainability and improved quality of life. It is important to him that his children and El Naranjo are successful for generations to come.

84 | La Soledad – Chiroso

Producer
Ivan Montoya
Description
Floral, lemongrass, maple syrup, honey
Process
Washed
Varietals
Chiroso
Region
Antioquia
Elevation
2,050 meters
Position
Spot
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. 

41 | La Mina

Producer
Henry Martinez
Description
Floral, lemongrass, molasses, brown sugar
Process
Washed, sun-dried
Varietals
Colombia, Castillo
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,960 meters
Position
Spot
Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Ask Henry Martinez to describe the coffee industry and he will tell you, “Coffee is a blessing for all of us” and that he owes everything he has to hard work and coffee. He can recall good years and bad years, but is quick to note that lately the bad years are overwhelming the good ones. Coffee prices have been very low even though the cost of production keeps climbing.

After getting married to his wife Ricardina, Henry bought La Mina from his father. Through hard work and carefully managed expenses, he was able to pay off the farm in two years. While he originally planted caturra varietals, he found out after only 5 years how susceptible that variety is to leaf rust.

Now La Mina is planted with castillo varietals and focused on the production of specialty coffee as Henry sees this as an important opportunity to reduce the volatility in coffee prices. He knows that if we can develop strong relationships with customers over time, he can concentrate on his craft without worrying if he is going to break even at the end of the harvest. 

78 | El Naranjo White Honey

Producer
Evelio Bados
Description
Floral, grapes, molasses, chocolate
Process
White honey, sun-dried
Varietals
Colombia, Castillo
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,900 meters
Position
Spot
Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
El Naranjo began over 35 years ago as just a vision. Evelio invested in an untouched lot and worked very hard to clear the land and eventually plant coffee. He was working double duty during this time as he was also employed at other farms in order to provide for his family.

After watching his dream come to fruition, Evelio is proud that his children are continuing his legacy to produce coffee at El Naranjo. It is important to him that his children and El Naranjo are successful for generations to come.

10 | Guayacanes

Producer
Segunda Erazo
Description
Cherry, caramel, chocolate, honey
Process
Washed, sun-dried
Varietals
Colombia, castillo
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,730 meters
Position
Spot
Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Segunda inherited Guayacanes from her father, who also taught her everything she knows about coffee. She relied heavily on these skills to support herself and seven children when her husband passed away 20 years ago. Today, her children work beside her at Guayacanes. The farm provides not only the coffee harvest, but also bananas, avocados, and yuca for the family’s consumption. Segunda is hopeful that the farm will continue to support her family for many generations to come.

13 | Las Gradas

Producer
William Martinez
Description
Sweet, stone fruit, cherry, caramel, bakers chocolate
Process
Washed
Varietals
Castillo, Colombia
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,750 meters
Position
Spot
Warehouse
Continental New jersey
Growing up in the countryside, William worked at several coffee plantations. With the support of his father, he started planting his own coffee 19 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. In 2020 William added a new parabolic drying bed. Now he is planing 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 allowed William to provide for his family and also improve his farm,
 

105 | El Chocho

Producer
Andres Gomez
Description
Sweet, caramel, stone fruit, black cherry
Process
Washed
Varietals
Castillo, Colombia
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,950 meters
Position
Spot
Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Andres inherited both the land at El Chocho and his knowledge of coffee from his father. Through the years, he has gradually made some updates at the farm, predominantly to the wet mill. As he improves his facilities, he is simultaneously working to increase his production by planting more trees. Originally, El Chocho consisted of 4,000 Castillo and Colombia trees and now he has around 6,000 trees, with plans to plant more.
Andres’ coffee has become one of our favorites year after year. We believe the unique way he processes his coffee makes it stand out on the cupping table. Even though his coffee is washed, we find complex notes that normally occur with other processing methods, like honey or even natural process.

05 | Los Pinos

Producer
Colombia Portilla
Description
Milk chocolate, honey, caramel, stone fruit
Process
Washed, sun-dried
Varietals
Castillo, Colombia
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,800 meters
Position
Spot
Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Colombia inherited Los Pinos from her parents and raised her 3 children there as well. As a divorced mother, she relied on coffee production to provide for her family entirely. Her children helped on the farm while they were growing up, but now that they are all married with their own families, her brothers Hernan and Guillermo assist her during the harvesting season.

Colombia is still dedicated to her farm and wants to improve her drying installations. She intends to continue coffee production for years to come and is excited about the possibility to work hand in hand with roasters overseas.