Avenue Coffee - Agustino Forest (Colombia)

Around six years ago, the Agustino Forest programme was set up with the aim of promoting coffee growing to the smallholders, rather than growing crops for the illegal drug trade. At that time there were 104 smallholder families involved – now it has expanded to incorporate 1000, all striving to produce coffee of outstanding quality.

The programme has a strong focus on environmental conservation. It requires that members either have shade trees on their plantation or an area set aside for a natural reserve. The farmers have an ongoing commitment to protecting the local environment and the ecosystems surrounding their farms. In return they are given access to the speciality market, as well as technical training and funding for tree planting and improving local infrastructure. It is believed that responsible coffee production can offset the effects of illicit drug production which took place in the area under guerilla rule in the early 2000’s.

These ripe coffee cherries are hand-picked and delivered to their own micro wet mill where it is pulped and fermented before being washed. The region is extremely humid, so it can be challenging to get the coffee to the moisture level required for export, but the farmers involved in Agustino Forest never dry their beans mechanically. The farmers are invited to cup their coffees with qualified Q graders so that they can get feedback on how they could improve their processes in order to attract higher quality premiums.