Colombian Coffee Finca Los Naranjos
Our Colombian Coffee, Finca Los Naranjos, is another delightful addition to our ever-changing single origin coffee collection! Its tropical and spicy profile flavour notes of lemon, orange blossom, milk chocolate and honey create a vibrant and very distinctive favour profile. If you love sharing a super single origin with family or friends, you can enjoy a truly indulgent single with Finca Los Naranjos.
Colombian Finca Los Naranjos has been ethically sourced from a relatively small plantation of 3.5 hectares that is farmed by new generation coffee farmer, Karol Garcia. Karol has cultivated some truly wonderful Colombian coffee beans that create a well-balanced cup with particularly fragrant flavour notes. Romeo has been raving about this single origin as he loves its tropical & spicy flavour notes and high 87.25 SCO cupping score. This high score places it firmly within the great speciality coffee category and makes it a delight for many a coffee connoisseur.
Cultivating Colombian Coffee
Colombia is a significant contributor to global coffee exports and is the fourth largest producer of Arabica coffee in the world, ranking just behind Indonesia. The country has earned a great reputation for producing some of the world’s finest coffee, including some truly standout single origins.
As a country, Columbia has a rich coffee-growing heritage that can be linked back to the 1700s, with commercial coffee production starting in 1835 with a relatively small export of coffee beans to the US. Levels of coffee cultivation have grown significantly since these early days, with sustained increases in production being recorded to achieve an annual coffee production of 810,000 metric tons in the present day.
The success of Colombia as a coffee producing country can be linked to a number of factors including exceptional growing conditions, the hand picking of coffee beans and sole focus on cultivating Arabica beans. It is also very much the case that the National Federation of Coffee Growers has played a key role in this with its iconic coffee character “Juan Valdez”. Valdez catapulted Colombian coffee into the minds of coffee importing countries with his characteristic moustache and mule Conchita.
The FNC’s successful marketing and branding efforts helped Colombia standout from other coffee growing countries and built a powerful connection between Columbia and premium coffee. They also play a key role in ensuring the quality of coffee exports and represent around 500,000 coffee growers.
Most Columbian coffee is grown along the Coffee-Growers Axis (which is also known as the Coffee Triangle). This is part of the rural Paisa region of the Andes, which boasts the invaluable combination of high altitudes and a temperate climate for coffee production.
Cultivation of speciality coffee in Columbia is certainly not without its challenges. The presence of the illegal drug trade and on-going political violence in the country is an on-going challenge to the maintenance of an advanced coffee agricultural system.
The challenges for coffee cultivation do not end with crime and political violence, the weather has also posed many challenges of late. The increasing impact of climate change has resulted in sustained periods of drought and flooding, both of which have been to the detriment of coffee output at times. Despite these many not insignificant challenges, coffee production continues to be an integral feature of the Colombian economy.
The Tolima Coffee Producing Region
Columbian coffee Finca Los Naranjos originates from the Tolima region in Colombia. The Tolima region has a rich coffee-producing history, which is interspersed with bouts of conflict, most of which were facilitated by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The FARC’s occupation of Tolima only ceased around a decade ago and during their occupation no coffee was exported for many years.
Following the agreement of peace, coffee farmers were able to return to Tolima and restart their craft of cultivating quality coffee, much of which is speciality coffee. Coffee farmers in Tolima are known for their intensive focus on quality and innovation. They also make the most of the rich and virtually untouched soil, which is an unintended consequence of the FARC’s long occupation.
Tolima’s climate has also demonstrated great resilience over the last five years, especially during the reoccurrence of excessive rain, which was first established by the La Niña weather phenomenon. During this inclement weather, Tolima continued to reliably maintain high export volumes, which has increased its popularity among many coffee roasters.
Although many regions in Colombia have earned an excellent reputation for the quality of their coffee beans, Tolima fares particularly well. Many coffees from the region have won critical acclaim and success in competitions and contests. Tolima’s success can be partly attributed to the willingness of its farmers to embrace new processes and experiment with different sustainable practices.
Our Colombian Coffee Beans
Finca Los Naranjos is cultivated at an altitude of 1728 meters above sea level. This high altitude creates ideal growing conditions for quality coffee. The Colombian coffee beans are then harvested ready for processing. Finca Los Naranjos is processed using the Honey Anaerobic method and dried for 10 hours after de-pulping.
As part of the Honey Anaerobic process, the skin and pulp are taken out of the seed, while the mucilage is retained for the fermentation process. This relatively new process is known to be difficult and can be time consuming, yet it helps to create the truly tropical and spicy flavour profile that Finca Los Naranjos has.
Following the harvesting, the Colombian coffee arrives at our Hampshire roastery ready for our roastmaster, Romeo, to small batch roast it. During roasting, Romeo concentrates on drawing out its natural flavour notes, which enhances the flavour profile of the beans and stays true to its origin. Finca Los Naranjos is a very exciting addition to our single origin coffee collection and is sure to delight many coffee lovers.
Finca Los Naranjos
Finca Los Naranjos is cultivated at a high-altitude of 1728 meters above sea level. This high altitude boasts ideal growing conditions with rich fertile soil to support the growth of the coffee plants. Its tropical and spicy profile with enticing flavour notes of lemon, orange blossom, milk chocolate and honey create a standout single origin for coffee connoisseurs to enjoy.
Our Columbian coffee is as perfect for brewing an exceptional espresso as it is for making a great base for a magnificently milky coffee. Take yourself on a journey to the heady heights of Columbia with tropical and spicy notes in every cup. Finca Los Naranjos makes a creamy well-balanced cup that is perfect for enjoying with family or friends. Once our roastmaster Romeo has carefully small batch roasted our Colombian coffee beans, it is packed into our beautifully designed recyclable packaging and sent directly to your door so you can enjoy great tasting speciality coffee at home.
Colombian Finca Los Naranjos Coffee Characteristics
- Varietal – Caturra, Castillo
- Process – Honey Anaerobic
- Region – Montalvo, Tolima
- Altitude – 1,728 meters above sea level (MASL)
- Tasting notes – Lemon, orange blossom, milk chocolate, honey
- Cupping score – 87.25
