Colombia – Porfidio Rojas (direct trade)

Colombia, Palo Grande – Porfidio Rojas

Origin and Specifications

• Country: Colombia
• Region: Paicol, Huila
• Finca: Palo Grande
• Lot: Microlot Porfidio Rojas
• Producer: Porfidio Rojas
• Process: Honey
• Variety: Colombia, Castillo and Tabi
• Altitude: 1450 – 1600 m

From Adoption to Direct Trade: The Story Behind Our Coffee

In 1999, Marco and Corine Blom adopted a six-week-old Colombian baby. Two decades later, they traveled to Colombia to search for his biological mother. There, they met Carlos Andres Perdomo Rojas, a cousin of their son who had grown up among his family’s coffee plants in Huila. That was how they discovered that his family had been growing coffee for generations.

At the farms, they saw not only rolling green hills and coffee plants in the shade, but also how little the farmers were left with. Middlemen set the prices and took most of the profits. This led to the creation of Rojas Specialty Coffee. Carlos came to the Netherlands in 2019 to learn English and stayed longer because of the pandemic; during that time, he and Marco and Corine developed a plan to sell the coffee directly to Dutch customers. The coffee now goes straight to Zwolle, where it is roasted locally. This ensures that the farmers and community in Huila receive a fair price.

Generations of Craftsmanship

The Rojas family has been growing coffee at Finca Palo Grande and Finca San Isidro for over a hundred years. In 1964, grandfather Perdomo became the first coffee farmer in Huila to be certified for specialty coffee. Today, the fifth generation continues that work, with a focus on quality and sustainable farming. Their grandfather’s distinctive hat appears in the logo and on the packaging.

Terroir and Processing

Huila’s refined coffee is thanks to a combination of altitude, volcanic soil, and a tropical climate. At Palo Grande, the coffee is harvested by hand, with only ripe cherries picked. Porfidio Rojas’s coffee is processed using the honey process: some of the fruit pulp is left on the bean during drying, after which the beans are dried in the sun. This preserves much of the cherry’s natural sweetness and gives the coffee body.

The coffee is grown sustainably: using water from a nearby waterfall, natural shade from large trees for even ripening, and by reusing farm byproducts.

Read more about the Rojas family and their farms in Huila at Rojas Specialty Coffee.