In the southwest side of Huila, there is a town tucked in the mountains named La Argentina, near the Serrania de las Minas. On the mountains of the municipality, at 1,786 masl we meet Eulises and his wife Yaneth, at their farm La Lomita. Interestingly, when Eulises was registering the farm at the public notary, he didn’t have a name but when the public server asked him for the name, Eulises told him it was on a small hill and hence the idea of the name. His father was a coffee farmer and from a young age helped him at the farm and learned about coffee, but it was until 1993 where Eulises had his own farm and in 2007 switched to specialty coffee focusing on quality. This change has allowed him during time to buy more land, plant more coffee, make some arrangements to the farm’s infrastructure, and most important being able to pay for the debts he had. It makes him proud how he works with his wife and kid, and the farm can provide for their well-being.
At the farm he has Bourbon, Caturra, Colombia and Catimor. The way he processes his coffee starts with the picking of the ripest cherries, which are pulped during the afternoon at his micro wet mill. The beans are then fermented in airtight containers which have an escape for the gas that forms, for 80 hours. When it’s finished, the beans are washed twice in the same canisters and left for 30 minutes to drain any excess liquid before being passes to the drying area. The drying is done in a covered patio where the coffee is going to be spread and raked 4 to 5 times on cold weather days and just twice on a sunny day. For the parchment coffee to be ready it’s going to take between 12 to 18 days. After, the coffee is stored in the farm and then delivered to the purchasing station.
Certifications: Fair Trade FLO, UTZ, Caravela X-Grade.
All images and information about this coffee and producers have been kindly shared by its importer, Caravela, and edited by us, Sample Coffee (unless linked to or credited otherwise).
