COLOMBIA - Inza
Colombia
Inza
Situated 91 km from the capital of the department of Cauca, lies Inzá, a municipality located within the mountains that make up the central Andean mountain range. A mystical region where a large amount of archeological wealth has been found, it forms part of the Tierradentro national park, one of the three most important archeological sites in Colombia. The coffee here is grown mainly by the smallholders with an average of 2 hectares each. They loosely group in to 16 communities over 35 villages, and deliver their coffee to Jesus Volveras, the local collector based in town. Jesus has his own farm, which allows him to dry any cherry which is received wet -either at around 20% moisture or closer to 50% moisture depending on the weather conditions. INZA Colombia Lots of (or sporadic) rain often mean smallholders are unable to dry the beans consistently and within a time frame that will guarantee good quality, so delivering them quickly to someone who can is a good option. Once dried, they are delivered to the milling facility in Popayan, where beans are graded, cupped and quality controlled. Although located in Cauca, the harvesting is more in line with Huila coffee season which differs by around a month. Some farms though with new varietals and changes in climate are finding a small harvest is available nearly all year round now.
Freddy Pencue runs two farms that contriburte to the Inza regional lot. The first at 8 hectares is his, the second, 4 hectares is his fathers. In an area that the general small holder owns 2 hectares, these are large farms, and coupled with the more recent varietals (and a good varietal mix) he can get a small harvest all year round. Fertiliser gets applied three times a year, but the costs have risen enough this year (2022) to make it unsustainable in his current approach. He is investigating more ecological methods, but if these don’t prove beneficial and the price stays high he will have to cut back on applications. Hiring 25 pickers every four to six weeks to pick and process the cherry, it is brought to his mill where he pulps and ferments for 24-36 hours in neatly tiled tanks. The beans are then washed, and dried ontarp on a patio in a poly tunnel. The plan is to build raised beds to improve this.
Green Apple, Blackberry, Grapefruit, Milk Chocolate
Whole bean - 200g.
Colombia
Inza
Situated 91 km from the capital of the department of Cauca, lies Inzá, a municipality located within the mountains that make up the central Andean mountain range. A mystical region where a large amount of archeological wealth has been found, it forms part of the Tierradentro national park, one of the three most important archeological sites in Colombia. The coffee here is grown mainly by the smallholders with an average of 2 hectares each. They loosely group in to 16 communities over 35 villages, and deliver their coffee to Jesus Volveras, the local collector based in town. Jesus has his own farm, which allows him to dry any cherry which is received wet -either at around 20% moisture or closer to 50% moisture depending on the weather conditions. INZA Colombia Lots of (or sporadic) rain often mean smallholders are unable to dry the beans consistently and within a time frame that will guarantee good quality, so delivering them quickly to someone who can is a good option. Once dried, they are delivered to the milling facility in Popayan, where beans are graded, cupped and quality controlled. Although located in Cauca, the harvesting is more in line with Huila coffee season which differs by around a month. Some farms though with new varietals and changes in climate are finding a small harvest is available nearly all year round now.
Freddy Pencue runs two farms that contriburte to the Inza regional lot. The first at 8 hectares is his, the second, 4 hectares is his fathers. In an area that the general small holder owns 2 hectares, these are large farms, and coupled with the more recent varietals (and a good varietal mix) he can get a small harvest all year round. Fertiliser gets applied three times a year, but the costs have risen enough this year (2022) to make it unsustainable in his current approach. He is investigating more ecological methods, but if these don’t prove beneficial and the price stays high he will have to cut back on applications. Hiring 25 pickers every four to six weeks to pick and process the cherry, it is brought to his mill where he pulps and ferments for 24-36 hours in neatly tiled tanks. The beans are then washed, and dried ontarp on a patio in a poly tunnel. The plan is to build raised beds to improve this.
Green Apple, Blackberry, Grapefruit, Milk Chocolate
Whole bean - 200g.
Colombia
Inza
Situated 91 km from the capital of the department of Cauca, lies Inzá, a municipality located within the mountains that make up the central Andean mountain range. A mystical region where a large amount of archeological wealth has been found, it forms part of the Tierradentro national park, one of the three most important archeological sites in Colombia. The coffee here is grown mainly by the smallholders with an average of 2 hectares each. They loosely group in to 16 communities over 35 villages, and deliver their coffee to Jesus Volveras, the local collector based in town. Jesus has his own farm, which allows him to dry any cherry which is received wet -either at around 20% moisture or closer to 50% moisture depending on the weather conditions. INZA Colombia Lots of (or sporadic) rain often mean smallholders are unable to dry the beans consistently and within a time frame that will guarantee good quality, so delivering them quickly to someone who can is a good option. Once dried, they are delivered to the milling facility in Popayan, where beans are graded, cupped and quality controlled. Although located in Cauca, the harvesting is more in line with Huila coffee season which differs by around a month. Some farms though with new varietals and changes in climate are finding a small harvest is available nearly all year round now.
Freddy Pencue runs two farms that contriburte to the Inza regional lot. The first at 8 hectares is his, the second, 4 hectares is his fathers. In an area that the general small holder owns 2 hectares, these are large farms, and coupled with the more recent varietals (and a good varietal mix) he can get a small harvest all year round. Fertiliser gets applied three times a year, but the costs have risen enough this year (2022) to make it unsustainable in his current approach. He is investigating more ecological methods, but if these don’t prove beneficial and the price stays high he will have to cut back on applications. Hiring 25 pickers every four to six weeks to pick and process the cherry, it is brought to his mill where he pulps and ferments for 24-36 hours in neatly tiled tanks. The beans are then washed, and dried ontarp on a patio in a poly tunnel. The plan is to build raised beds to improve this.
Green Apple, Blackberry, Grapefruit, Milk Chocolate
Whole bean - 200g.