123 | El Carpintero

Coming soon!

Producer
Laureano Gomez		Description
TBA
Process
Washed		Varietals
Variedad Colombia
Region
Nariño		Elevation
1,950 meters
Position
ETA September, 2024		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.
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16 | El Plan

Coming soon!

Producer
Patricia Benitez		Description
TBA
Process
Washed, sun-dried		Varietals
Castillo, F4
Region
Nariño		Elevation
1,750 meters
Position
ETA September, 2024		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.
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07 | El Naranjo

Coming soon!

Producer
Evelio Bados		Description
TBA
Process
Washed		Varietals
Castillo, Colombia
Region
Nariño		Elevation
1,900 meters
Position
ETA September, 2024		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.
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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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14 | Bellavista

Coming soon!

Producer
Albeiro Solarte		Description
Maple syrup, bakers chocolate, cherry
Process
Washed, sun-dried		Varietals
Colombia, Castillo
Region
Nariño		Elevation
1,850 meters
Position
ETA September, 2024		Warehouse
Continental Terminals, New Jersey
Albeiro and his nine siblings grew up at Finca Bellavista. He and four of his brothers still live at the farm today, caring for both the coffee and their aging parents. They have fond childhood memories and learned everything they know about coffee from their now 98 year old father.

While Albeiro takes pride in growing excellent coffee, providing his parent’s with a comfortable lifestyle in their golden years is the ultimate reward for his hard work.
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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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84 | La Soledad – Chiroso

Spot Continental NJ

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. 
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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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41 | La Mina

Coming soon!

Producer
Henry Martinez		Description
TBA
Process
Washed, sun-dried		Varietals
Colombia, Castillo
Region
Nariño		Elevation
1,960 meters
Position
ETA September, 2024		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. 
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78 | El Naranjo White Honey

Coming soon!

Producer
Evelio Bados		Description
TBA
Process
White honey, sun-dried		Varietals
Colombia, Castillo
Region
Nariño		Elevation
1,900 meters
Position
ETA September, 2024		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.
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