This month we will finalise the shipping of the second container of coffee we bought in December in Huila, Colombia. We will also speak with all the farmers we buy from in Huila and learn more about their pruning and fertilisation plans for the coming year; the plans will help us estimate what size harvest the farmers are expecting later in the year which will help with our own buying plans. If we know a farmer is preparing for an extreme prune and reshape of their farm, then we know we need to find additional farms to buy from in the upcoming harvest. It is also a great opportunity to catch up with farmers post-harvest when there is more time to chat and learn about the projects they are developing.
When the coffees arrive, we will taste everything we bought to check that it has landed well. We also measure the coffee’s water activity and humidity levels and use all this information to make a plan for when we will use each coffee across the year. In Nariño we will begin our harvest process, meeting with Almacafé for pre-harvest planning, checking in with all the farmers from whom we usually buy and finalising the amount of coffee they expect to deliver and the quantity we will buy. We will spend the following two months helping in any way we can with the plentiful amount of paperwork required. In June we will receive the early lots of coffee and during July and August we will taste the bulk of the crop. In September we will finalise the shipping instructions and the first of these coffees will arrive on our counter in time for December. At which time, we will be back in Huila tasting the main crop coffee for the next delivery.
As mentioned last month we have been buying directly in Huila since 2012 and Nariño since 2013, but our relationships with many of the farmers go back another decade. Over more than twenty years we have forged friendships, celebrated family occasions, and seen many farms expand. One of the biggest changes we have seen during this time has been the number of young farmers looking to establish their own farms. When we first started visiting farms in Colombia, many of the farmers wanted their children to grow up to do anything other than grow coffee. And so it is with great pleasure that we have seen that change over the years. This change has come about with the emergence of the specialty coffee market, our own commitment to the farmers and their harvests, and greater opportunities in the international coffee industry. On our last trip in December, we bought coffee for the first time from Ancisar Córdoba (son of Fidencio Córdoba of Finca Abisinia) and John Fredy Chicaeme (son in law of Octavio Rueda from Finca El Mirador).
While it is wonderful to be buying coffee from the next generation, we sadly could not visit their farms. The security situation in this area of Colombia was difficult during our trip, and we were advised not to travel outside of the town where we were staying. Hopefully we will visit Ancisar and John Fredy on our next visit to Huila in December.
Monmouth x