Post-Roast: Colombia Photo Blog

In February I had the opportunity to travel to Colombia with our Cafe Imports, who brings in a majority of coffee used at Relative. The trip went through the regions of Cauca and Huila, which are southern regions of Colombia, commonly known for great acidity, sweetness, and floral highlights.

Colombia is used in Color Block year round, and in the Yeah, No…Yeah!, collaboration with Coffee People Podcast. Single origin offerings rotate, like the Manos Juntas Natural, as menu spots become available.

The first stop on the trip was the region of Cauca with exporter, Banexport. We visited their farms Juan Martin and Santa Barbara. They are also responsible for the Manos Juntas Natural processing where farmers deliver coffee in cherry and and Banexport takes care of the drying process.

Below are seeds being cared for in the nursery at Finca Juan Martin. This farm staffs agronomists that cafe for the plants, monitor the soil, and determine nutrients as needed.

Back in the city, we went to the Banexport warehouse to cup coffee and hear about their processing methods and various projects in the works. 

Above is coffee cherry being mechanically dried. Climate in Colombia can be humid and wet, and these machines help with the consistency of drying. Drying profiles can be programmed to encourage more or less air that passes through and recycles as it moves through. 

Below the drying process is being done at a much smaller scale to test and decide how a coffee may be processed, or how the drying is impacting coffee flavor. This can help minimize risk when processing large amounts of coffee at a time. 

Cupping coffee is a huge part of these trips. Any batch of coffee with a lot number after being processed passes through the cupping table to evaluate quality. Factors like weather, harvesting, washing, drying, and so much more will impact how the final product turns out. There is a ton of work done before coffee gets to our brewers at home.

These trips and usually packed with a full schedule, so it's back on the bus and time to head to our next department. Huila.

It is a privilege to be hosted by producers, exporters, and importers. Below we are hosted by producer Arnulfo Leguizamo for lunch, and shares his wisdom from the industry. It was inspiring, and served as a reminder to be good stewards to the land. 

Back in the city, we visit Genesis, which is a very cool project with passionate producers, and locally owned to better serve smaller producers.

Of course, no trip anywhere is complete with out photos of the dogs.