Colombia El Refugio Gesha - washed

Agudelo Uribe, El Refugion, Villamara, Caldas
Variety: Gesha
washed, 1750-2050 m

The El Refugio farm belongs to Agudelo Uribe's family since 2020. A total of 7.5 hectares are cultivated here with Gesha, Sidra, Bourbon and other varieties. The farm is located in the same mountain range as the Ruiz volcano, contributing to nutrient-rich volcanic soils to the farm.

Since the family took over the farm, the focus has been entirely on growing specialty coffee. The farm is cultivated according to the principles of agroforestry. Native trees are planted to protect the coffee plants in several ways (tree shade to protect the sun-sensitive coffee leaves, protection from strong winds/wind gusts and soil erosion, regulation of the nitrogen concentration in the soil) and to enrich the ecosystem (creation or preservation of the natural habitat for native animal species).

Currently, all coffees from the El Refugio farm are fully washed, as this allows the terroir and the potential of the young coffee plants to be expressed particularly well.

Which brings us to processing: The cherries are first floated to remove impurities and under-/overripe fruit. They are then processed in a special machine, which in the first step depulps the cherries (removes the skin) and in a second step ferments them with the mucilage for around 24 hours. The fermented pulp is then removed from the parchment in washing channels. The channels also help to grade the coffee according to their density. In a final step, the beans are dried in parabolic driers until they have the right moisture content.