COLOMBIA SAN RAFAEL

REGION: CAUCA
AREA: POPAYAN
ELEVATION: 1800 MASL
VARIETAL: CASTILLO

NOTES: WINEY ACIDITY, PEAR SWEETNESS, COCOA AND HAZELNUT, FULL BODIED

THE CAUCA REGION IS IN THE SOUTH WEST OF COLOMBIA AND IS HOME TO OVER
90,000 COFFEE GROWING FAMILIES. THE SAN RAFAEL FARM IS OWNED AND RUN BY
CARLOS AND HIS FAMILY SINCE 2002 AND SITS 45 MINUTES OUT OF POPAYAN. THE
WET PROCESSING STATION IS ALSO LOCATED ON SAN RAFAEL, WITH ALL
PROCESSING TAKEN CARE OF BY CARLOS AND HIS TEAM.

THE FARM IS 95 HECTARES, WITH EACH HECTARE CONTAINING 6,000 CASTILLO

TREES, AND EACH TREE PRUNED TO 1.5M TALL. THE TREES ARE HEALTHY AND WELL
LOOKED AFTER. THE FARM IS SPLIT INTO SEPARATE ZONES, WITH EACH ZONE AT
DIFFERENT STAGES OF PRODUCTION. SOME ZONES ARE NEW PLANTS, SOME ARE 3-5
YEARS AND SOME ARE HARVEST READY. THERE IS ALSO A NURSERY ON THE FARM
WHICH HOUSE GROWING SEEDLINGS AND SOME DIFFERENT VARIETALS FOR
TESTING, THESE ARE PROVIDED BY THE COLOMBIAN COFFEE FEDERATION (CCF) FOR
RESEARCH.

THE COFFEE IS HAND PICKED IN THE MORNING AND THEN THERE ARE TWO
PROCESSING TIMES, MIDDAY AND 5PM. THE COFFEE IS PULPED AND THEN SENT TO
FERMENTATION TANKS, WHERE IT IS FERMENTED IN THE COFFEE’S OWN MUCILAGE,
WITH NO WATER ADDED FOR 12 HOURS. IT IS THEN WASHED AND SENT TO THE
DRYING TABLES.

CARLOS SENDS THE DRY COFFEE TO THE COOPERATIVA DE CAFICULTORES DEL

CAUCA TRILLADORA, A DRY PROCESS MILL WHICH ONLY PROCESSES COFFEE FOR
THREE PRODUCERS. THE MILL IS JUST OUTSIDE OF POPAYAN AND HAS RECENTLY
ADDED A NEW BUHLER LASER SORTER. THE COFFEE IS HULLED, SEPARATED BY
SCREEN SIZE, LASER SORTED AND FINALLY HANDED SORTED BEFORE BEING
WEIGHED AND BAGGED. EACH BAG THEN HAS A SAMPLE PULLED FROM IT, WHICH IS
ROASTED AND GRADED INTERNALLY BY THE MILL QUALITY TEAM. WE USE OUR OWN
GRADING SYSTEM, CALLED PCCS (DETAILED BELOW) .THIS IS DONE IN COMBINATION
WITH THE CCF, WHICH CARLOS IS A MEMBER OF. THE CCF ENSURE THAT FAIR WORK
CONDITIONS AND QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES ARE FOLLOWED ON
COFFEE FARMS IN THE CAUCA REGION. THEY ALSO CONDUCT SPOT CHECKS ON
FARMS REGULARLY.

CARLOS AND HIS WIFE YURLEY DO THE EXPORTING UNDER THEIR OWN LICENCE,
CALLED ASCAFE, WHICH YOU WILL SEE ON ALL OUR COLOMBIAN BAGS

ASCAFE – ASCAFE IS AN ORGANISATION ESTABLISHED BY CARLOS AND YURLEY THAT
IS FOCUSED ON SUSTAINABLE COFFEE GRWOING PRACTICES FOR FARMERS IN THE
CAUCA REGION. THIS MEANS PROVIDING ASSISTANCE FOR GROWERS AND PAYING
FAIR PRICES FOR COFFEE. ASCAFE AND FIRST CROP WORK TOGETHER TO
GUARANTEE THAT THE FARMERS THAT PRODUCE OUR COFFEE ARE PAID
PROFITABLE PRICES FOR THEIR COFFEE, ENSURING LONG TERM STABILITY AND
MAKING COFFEE GROWING A LUCRATIVE BUSINESS AS OPPOSED TO AN UNDERPAID
STRUGGLE.

PCCS – THIS IS OUR OWN INTERNAL GRADING SYSTEM FOR THE MILLING PROCESS.
ALL OUR COFFEE IN COLOMBIA IS MILLED AND PREPARED AGAINST THIS STANDARD.
THE PCCS STANDARD ALLOWS FOR 0 PRIMARY DEFECTS AND A MAXIMUM OF 2
SECONDARY DEFECTS PER 300GMS, IT ALSO MEANS 50% OF THE COFFEE IS SCREEN
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