ABOUT FINCA EL MIRADOR

Finca El Mirador is located in Aipe, Huila, Colombia, and run by Jose Javier Canacue. The farm sits at an elevation of 1,940 meters and consists of 8 hectares (20 acres) in total, with approximately 4 of those planted with coffee. He is growing Caturra, V. Colombia, Castillo, Tabi, Gesha, Sidra and an unknown variety locally referred to as Caturra Chiroso. All of Javier’s varieties and lots are sent to us separated so that we can evaluate each one individually. This particular lot is the Colombia variety. Historically, Javier depulped and fermented his coffee for 36 hours, but lately he has been experimenting with longer fermentations. In this case, the final result is a combination of 12 hours in cherry, followed by a 40-45 hour dry ferment where the coffee is turned over every 4-5 hours. Once the coffee has been washed, it is dried in parabolic dryers for anywhere from 20-30 days, depending on the weather. It is also important to note that although this coffee is not certified, it is produced fully organically, and Javier's farm is officially certified. It should also be noted that Javier pays a 25% premium to pickers compared to the average wage, in order to guarantee a more uniform picking of only mature cherries.

ABOUT VARIETY COLOMBIA

Variety Colombia was developed over five generations by Cenicafe between 1968 and 1982, and is the result of hybridizing Caturra with the Timor Hybrid. This variety was developed primarily out of need for a highly disease-resistant variety, and was successfully developed in advance of Colombia’s first coffee leaf rust outbreak, which hit the country in 1983. V. Colombia arguably helped save the country’s coffee industry. This variety has been improved over the years, and has been the breeding base for different sub-varieties, including the Tabi and the Castillo cultivars.