16 | El Plan

Producer
Patricia Benitez
Description
Sweet, caramel, cherry, chocolate
Process
Washed, sun-dried
Varietals
Colombia, castillo
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,750 meters
Position
Under Contract
Warehouse
Continental Terminals, New Jersey
Coffee has always been a way of life for Patricia. She and her siblings grew up on her father’s farm, helping with the day to day activities. After he passed away, Patricia inherited a portion of his farm where she started El Plan twelve years ago.

Coming full circle, she now provides for her family with coffee production. However, current coffee prices make production at a profit difficult. Patricia sees an opportunity in our business model to make coffee production sustainable. With deep roots in the industry, she wants to see farmers succeed.

135 | El Maco

Producer
Zoila Rojas
Description
Silky, stone fruit, Sugar cane, milk chocolate
Process
White Honey
Varietals
Colombia
Region
Nariño
Elevation
2,000 meters
Position
Sold out
Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Born and raised in the Santa Marta region of Nariño, Colombia, Zoila still lives in the same community at the age of 67. Alongside her husband, she began growing coffee at El Maco forty-two years ago and the two of them raised their two children there. After he passed away in 2019, Zoila moved to the city of Bogotá with her daughter. After a few months, she decided to go back to the farm and continue growing coffee. Today, El Maco is planted with approximately 7,000 trees of the Colombia Varietal.

We started to work with Zoila in 2022. After cupping her coffee we loved the profile and saw immediate potential to develop a long term relationship. Zoila is very excited about working with the same partners year over year and show the improvements that she can make.

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22 | El Aguante

Producer
Marcial Lopez
Description
Honey, grapes, molasses, dark chocolate
Process
Washed
Varietals
Colombia, Castillo
Region
Nariño
Elevation
2,000 meters
Position
Under Contract
Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Marcial has worked with coffee for 30 years and loves his job. The last 20 of those years have been at El Aguante where he also produces corn, yuca, and other crops for the family’s consumption. His love for farming, and coffee in particular, has manifested in his children and they hope to follow in his footsteps one day. We hope to play a role in making the business sustainable for these upcoming generations.

25 | El Cajón

Producer
Carlos Castillo
Description
Sweet, stone fruit, bakers chocolate, spices
Process
Washed
Varietals
Castillo, Colombia
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,950 meters
Position
Under Contract
Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
El Cajón is home to Carlos, his wife, Rosa, and their three children. The whole family is involved in the farm and loves to grow coffee. A testament to their hard work and dedication, El Cajón has grown slowly from a small plot of land to what it is today.

With all they have invested in the coffee industry, the family has decided to focus on the quality of their coffee in an effort to achieve some sustainability. They have started working with the geisha variety of coffee and are planning improvements to the farm including a new storage area and a new wet mill.
 

54 | Bodegas

Producer
Edwin Benitez
Description
Caramel, sugar cane, milk chocolate
Process
Washed
Varietals
Colombia, Castillo
Region
Nariño
Elevation
1,750 meters
Position
Under Contract
Warehouse
Continental, New Jersey
Edwin has worked with coffee all his life, originally learning to the trade from his father. After his father passed away, he inherited part of his land and continued growing coffee. Edwin knows first hand the hard work and dedication that coffee demands and believes the low coffee prices do not fairly compensate for them. He sees great opportunity in developing direct trades relationships that recognize the quality of the coffee he is producing.

Edwin lives with his wife Blastenia, his son Jaider, and his daughter Graicy at Bodegas. He wants to continue the legacy that his father left him, and is now teaching his son the best practices for improving quality. He is hopeful that the evolution of the specialty coffee market will provide some stability for the future generations of coffee growers.