Colombia Specialty Coffee – El Tambo Women's Cooperative | Light Medium Roast | Double Fermented

Summary

Farm: Smallholder Members of ASMUCAFE (Asociación de Mujeres Agropecuarias de Uribe) Region: El Tambo, Cauca, Colombia Process: Fully washed, Double Fermented and dried with parabolic dryers Altitude: 1,400 - 2,000  Meters
Certification: Women's Produced
Roast Level: Light/Medium

Flavor Profile

This Colombia boasts some smooth chocolate notes with a nutty undertone. This is not as crisp as other Colombia offerings but still shows some light citrus fruit acidity. It is easy to drink and clean with a white tea and wild flower finish.

Details

ASMUCAFE stands for Asociación de Mujeres Agropecuarias de Uribe, an organization of women farmers and landowners in El Tambo, a municipality within Cauca. The women's mission as an association is to improve their families' quality of life through coffee farming and to contribute positively to their community by working together and sharing resources, knowledge, and support. "Our work is determined by our values such as responsibility, honesty, commitment, respect, solidarity, and competitiveness," they say. A special price premium is added to this coffee which is used towards projects aimed at female empowerment in the association. 

The coffee, all of which is of Castillo or Colombia variety, is picked as purple (Castillo) or bright red (Colombia) cherry, and undergoes a somewhat unusual "double" fermentation process, as the women describe it: First, the cherries are left in the loading hoppers for 14 hours, then they are depulped in the afternoons and evening hours and placed into traditional open fermentation tanks for another 10 hours. Then they are washed three to four times before being dried either in parabolic dryers or in the sun for 8–12 days

Colombia as a Country

• Size - 1,138,910 sq km
• Capital City - Bogotá
• Main Port City - Buenaventura, Cartagena
• Population - 47,220,856 (estimated July 2016)
• Language/s Spoken - Spanish (official)

PRODUCER PROFILE

• Population Involved in Coffee - 600,000 farmers (estimated)
• Typical Farm Size - 1–5 hectares
• Bags Exported Annually - 11–13 million bags

COFFEE PROFILE

• Growing Regions - Antioquia, Boyacá, Caldas, Cauca, Cesar, Caquetá, Casanare, Cundinamarca, Guajira, Huila, Magdalena, Meta, Nariño, Quindío, Risaralda, Santander, Tolima, Valle
• Common Varieties - Bourbon, Castillo, Catimor, Caturra, Colombia, Typica
• Processing Methods - Washed
• Bag Size - 70 kg
• Harvest Periods: Cauca + Nariño - May–July (main), November–January (fly); Huila - November–January (main), May–July (fly)
• Typical Arrival - Year-round