Introduction of Santuario Coffee producing area in Colombia | Coffee processing Technology of Santuario

Santuario is a town in Risaralda province, Colombia. The town is located in the eastern part of the western mountain range of Cordillera, which extends from the north of Antioquia to the border with Ecuador. The town was founded in 1886 and agriculture provides economic power for the area. The high green hills provide an ideal location for coffee production.

The members of the association Asocafe Tatama, which has been active in the area since 2003, are producers of the lot. The association was formed when small farmers in the region began to talk about working together to improve their income and quality of life in rural areas. The purpose of their association is to standardize planting and production methods by increasing technical assistance in order to achieve higher quality or certification. Starting with about 70 producers, the organization has grown into an organization representing 206 active members by 2016.

Through growing social networks and improved communication, Asocafe Tatama can help its members stay motivated and supportive despite living in the countryside. They have also done a lot of work to promote coffee production and become a sustainable lifestyle for the younger generation.

The word "Tatama" is taken from the National Natural Park Tatam á, a national park bordering the city of Santorio. The park is strictly protected and is considered to be one of the best nature reserves in Colombia.

Coffee is carefully prepared from planting to drying, followed by cup filling and quality evaluation. For the future, the association is looking to invest in their laboratories and train their cup-shaped cans so that they can choose the best batches to be produced for micro-batch sale.

Mercanta's export partners have partnered with Asocafe Tatama to commercialize specialty coffee throughout the region, resulting in some amazing coffee from the region, which has the best natural coffee growing conditions and takes full advantage of the Group's efforts to improve quality. A team of experts on a cup of coffee will provide feedback on the coffee and will pay if the producer's coffee is sold at a higher profit. Support has also been given in the area of social well-being.

Farm: all kinds of small farms

Variety: Castillo (60%), Colombia (20%), Kaddura (20%)

Treatment: fermented for 14-48 hours, then dried in the sun or dried in a machine

Altitude: 1500 to 1700 m above sea level

Owner: all kinds of small farmers

Town / city: Santuario

Region: Risaralda

About processing:

Each family usually carries out its own harvest with the help of its neighbors. After picking red ripe cherries, they are pulped through a manual pulper on a family farm (usually near the main house). The waste from this process will be used as natural fertilizer for coffee trees in the future. Then ferment the coffee for 14 to 48 hours according to the weather and the location of the farm, then wash it with cold clean water.

After this process, many farmers dry parchment on the terrace or on the roof of the house (elbas). Farmers in Huila have designed a mechanism through which they can slide the roof with pulleys to cover coffee on rainy days. Some farmers dry their coffee on parabolic beds in the sun. These parabolic beds, known locally as "marquesinas", are a bit like a "hoop house" greenhouse, ensuring the flow of air through the openings at both ends, protecting the parchment from Rain Water and fog during the drying process and preventing condensed water from dripping on the floor. Dried beans.

Raw beans are shipped directly by the manufacturer to the warehouse of our export partners, where dry grinding will eventually be carried out. After receiving the coffee, the coffee will be carefully graded and cup tested.