The Colombian department of Cauca lies in the southwestern part of the country, with the Pacific Ocean to the west, Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila Department to the east, and Nariño, Putumayo, and Caqueta Departments to the south. Many rivers traverse Cauca and the Central Range of the Andes Mountains runs through the department. Popayan is the capital city and Cauca’s population is distributed throughout the rural highlands and valleys.
Coffee producers here are mainly smallholder farmers with less than 1.5 hectares of land and 4000–6000 coffee trees in production on average. The soil in the region is fertile due to volcanic ash, and the weather is filled with warm days and cool nights due to winds blowing from the paramo, high plateaus in the area’s mountains. These factors all contribute to the region's classic cup profile, delicate and balanced with hints of
confection-like sweetness.
Leonel Calamabás has been a lifelong coffee producer who today operates the one hectare Finca El Jardin in Inza, Cauca. His seven children all grow coffee, and each has already been assigned a plot within the farm where Don Leonel hopes that they will continue in the family business. His three sons and four daughters say that they see coffee production as a life project that can provide for their livelihood, and they hope to continue in coffee growing with specialty production filling a crucial role in their work.
This lot underwent Washed processing. Pulped coffee was fermented in water for 48 hours prior to being fully washed. The washed coffee was then patio dried to it’s optimal humidity.
