Espresso Los Alpes

Source / Processing / Story:

Directly under the “Farallones del Citará” mountains and surrounded by the Cochuana forest you will find this wonderful piece of land called Finca Los Alpes. And despite its unique topography the farm is only a short drive from Bolivar in the Medellin department of Colombia.
The finca is located on an altitude around 1.650 to 1.950 masl and magically protected by clouds. The massive mountains provide a unique micro-climate: from the western side humid air-streams are coming from the Pacific Ocean while on the eastern side there are hot air-currents climbing up the slopes from the Cauca River Canyon. This special climate enables the coffee tree to produce coffee all year round as it provides two very balanced rainy seasons per year. Therefore the trees produce flowers and then cherries twice a year. Several creeks, rivers and waterfalls are coming directly from the mountains providing abundant irrigation.

Finca Los Alpes was established in 1974 and today 100 hectares are under coffee (100% Caturra) while the rest of the farm is naturally preserved. Doña Elvia and Don Juan Arboleda manage the finca together with their children Juan Alvaro and Olga.
The farm has its own wet mill and after depulping the fermentation process starts and lasts between 15 to 19 hours - depending on the relative humidity. After thoroughly washing the coffee the drying process begins lasting up to seven days.