Rounton Coffee Roasters: Colombia, Finca Las Brisas, Washed

This microlot was produced and processed by Carlos Alberto Ulchur, a smallholder member of the ASORCAFE - Inzá, Cauca producer group.  Produced at 1,900 metres above sea level, this very special lot was selected out from the rest of the organization’s producers as being of exceptional quality. With cola, caramel, berries, and stewed fruit upfront, accompanied by a juicy mouthfeel and really nice acidity, this coffee had us wowed and is a great showcase for what this remote and often overlooked region of Colombia has to offer.

The association of coffee growers, ASORCAFE, was founded in 2004 by 10 coffee growers with an entrepreneurial spirit who were tired of private parchment buyers who were paying them below national prices. The region’s violent past, with a heavy presence of FARC guerrillas, had historically prevented the FNC (Colombia’s excellent national coffee board) and specialty-focused exporters from establishing a presence in the region. As violence has diminished, it has enabled the growers in the region to seek increased access to markets for quality, not only taking advantage of the region’s wonderful coffee-growing conditions but also the economic resource that nearby tourist destinations bring (for instance, the World Heritage Site “Parque Nacional Arqueológico de Tierradentro”).