Colombia Las Delicias washed

We are thrilled that for four consecutive years, we have been able to purchase coffee from Angel Maria López. Building relationships with farmers is crucial to us, and Angel's farm was a key reason for our visit to Colombia in September 2023. Angel's coffee is among our favorites, and it was an honor to meet him personally, visit his two farms, and witness his processing methods. During our two weeks in Colombia, we visited numerous farms, but Angel's dedication to quality and his constant pursuit of improvement truly inspire us in the world of coffee.

Angel owns two farms, El Credo and Las Delicias, from where we source this coffee. In recent years, Angel has invested considerable effort in experimenting with various fermentation processes, supported by our supplier InConexus. Don Ángel María López focuses on every detail of the cultivation, harvesting, and processing of coffee to achieve the highest possible quality. Each year, he ensures that these practices maintain their high standards and also imparts this knowledge to his children. He deeply appreciates the rich soil vegetation in the region, which provides unique flavors to the resulting cup. Angel's coffee is always full of juicy flavors, characterized by deep sweetness and a lingering aftertaste.

The Nariño region is Colombia's southwestern region with the largest coffee production. In Buesaco, most farms average about 3 hectares in size. The proximity of Nariño to the equator ensures intense sun exposure year-round, influencing the cherry maturation rate. Warm air rises from deep canyons at night, acting as a protective blanket for coffee trees planted at high altitudes on mountaintops up to 2,300 meters above sea level. These combined attributes passively absorb solar energy day and night, resulting in full flowering and long cherry maturation periods, yielding smaller coffee beans with high density and intense flavor.

Don Ángel María López processes all his coffee using the washed method at El Credo farm. Ripe cherries pass through a depulper (a machine separating pulp from the bean), then ferment in closed tanks for approximately 18 hours, depending on weather conditions. The coffee is then washed and dried on raised beds in a ventilated "greenhouse" for 15-20 days. Apart from ensuring coffee quality, Angel is also one of the few farmers in the region focused on minimizing environmental impact. With support from InConexus, he has installed a toxic wastewater treatment system that arises from washing fermented beans. The wastewater undergoes purification using bacteria in three stages before being discharged back into nature. We highly value Angel's commitment to sustainability, which underscores the importance of our long-term partnership.