Augustino Forest - Colombia

CUP SCORE 87.00 (scaa cup protocol)

Butterscotch, orange, spices, dark chocolate

suggested for espresso and filter

 

PLEASE NOTE
We roast to order all coffees on Wednesday and Saturday, dispatching on next working day. Cut-off time is 8am UTC+1

 

Technical detail

Several farmers         Colombia    
Producer             Country
 
         Huila           1300-1900 mt
 Region/Terroir          Elevation   

 

      Washed                Caturra  
Pulping process       Cultivar    

 

       October 15           January 16  
     Picked in              Landed in

 

      10500 kg            GrainPro bag
     Lot size                Arrived in
                                     Self-made
   Rubens Gardelli     drum roaster
  Roast profile by    Roasted on

 

 THE STORY BEHIND

This lot is the outcome of 1000 smallholders spread across 5 regions of San Agustin in Huila; Los Cauchos, La Llanada, Alto de Obispos, La Argentina and Las Eras. The Agustino Forest programme was set up around 6 years ago with 104 smallholder families with an aim to promote coffee growing to the smallholder communities rather than producing crops for the illegal drugs trade. It was very successful and the program has now expanded to incorporate 1000 smallholders all striving to produce coffee of outstanding quality. The program also has a strong focus on environmental conservation and requires members to either have shade trees on their plantation or an area set aside for a natural reserve. It is believed that responsible coffee production can offset the effects of illicit drug production which took place in the area under guerrilla rule in the early 2000’s.
Coffee is grown here on the land surrounding the ancient forests of South Huila, home to a UNESCO World Heritage site with the archaeological park of San Agustin. This area contains some of the country’s most important remnants of pre-Hispanic culture and it is the protection of this site and the land surrounding it which is at the core of the Agustino Forest program. The smallholder farmers involved are given access to the specialty market along with technical training and funding for tree planting and improving local infrastructure in return for commitment to protect the local environment and the ecosystems surrounding their farms.
The Agustino Forest members hand pick ripe red cherry and deliver it to their own micro wet mill where it is pulped and fermented for between 18 and 24 hours before being washed. The washed beans are then either dried on patio’s underneath sliding covers in case of rainfall or in a parabolic dryer with the sides open to improve airflow. This process can take between 8 and 15 days and is particularly challenging to get the coffee to the moisture level required for export. The region is extremely humid and also receives a lot of rainfall, but the farmers involved in Agustino Forest never dry their beans mechanically. Once dry, the parchment beans are taken by truck or mule to the San Agustin collection point where the quality is assessed through green grading and cupping. The farmers are invited to cup their own coffees with qualified Q graders to receive feedback about how they could improve processing to attract higher quality premiums. The dry parchment coffee is then sent to the dry mill in Tolima rest before being milled, graded and packed into GrainPro bags for export.


please note

All orders are shipped on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (excluding national Holidays).
Cut-off time is 11:59pm (UTC+1) of the day before shipping days.