colombia finca las cruces

CHOCOLATE, GRAPE, TOFFEE

OMNI ROAST (LIGHT TO MEDIUM)

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ROAST PROFILE

This coffee wants to travel fairly quickly. However, we are mindful not to race through the middle phase too fast so to get it well developed, sweet and juicy.

 

ROASTERS RECOMMENDED RECIPE

"DON’T PLUNGE"

Brew Method: French Press

Grind Size: Medium

Coffee: 40g

Water: 500ml (just off the boil)

 

1. Pour all 500ml and let it steep for 4mins.

2. Using a spoon, break the crust at the top.

3. Do not stir or plunge, instead place the plunger at the top of the coffee and pour through as a filter.

 

The "Don't Plunge" method gives you a stronger yet cleaner cup of coffee that can be enjoyed black or with milk!

Bonus tip: when drinking our coffees black it pays off to give the brews time to cool down as this will give the flavours a chance to open up even more.

 

You can find more details on this brew method in our brew guides.

FINCA LAS CRUCES, QUINCHIA

 

SPECIES | ARABICA

PROCESS | WASHED

VARIETAL | CASTILLO

ALTITUDE | 1750 MASL

ABOUT FINCA LAS CRUCES

You might say that Esnayder Cuartas from Sabor Coffee has one foot in Colombia and one foot in the UK: the family farm Finca La Cruces is situated in the Paisa region of Colombia, but Esnayder currently resides in London and frequently visits our roastery. Some of you may have even met Esnayder at one of our roastery events! 

This delicious coffee has a sweet and refreshing chocolate, grape and toffee flavour profile. We've given it an omni roast meaning it's perfectly suited to both espresso and filter brew methods.

To give a little more context about why we're so excited about this partnership, we sat down with Esnayder and discussed all things coffee farming - the challenges facing producers in his region, his dual lives in London and Colombia, and his plans for the future of Finca Las Cruces.

If you want to learn more about the relationship between farmer and roaster, this blog and interview is well worth a read.

To celebrate International Women's Day 2024, we interviewed Esnayder's mother Ruby Alvarez de Cuartas. Real all about her fascinating life in coffee on our blog

HISTORY OF COFFEE IN COLOMBIA

Coffee came to Colombia in the late 1700s by way of Jesuit priests who were among the Spanish colonists, and the first plantings were in the north of the country, in the Santander and Boyaca departments. Throughout the 19th century, coffee plants spread through the country, with a smaller average farm size than more commonly found throughout other Latin American producing countries.

Commercial production and export of coffee started in the first decade of the 1800s, but remained somewhat limited until the 20th century: The 1927 establishment of the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (aka FNC, see below) was a tremendous boost to the national coffee industry, and Colombia quickly established itself as a major coffee-growing region, vying with Brazil and Vietnam for the title of top global producer.

Colombia still produces exclusively Arabica coffee, and though the country suffered setbacks and lower yields from an outbreak of coffee-leaf rust in the early 2010s, production has fairly bounced back thanks to the development and spread of disease-resistant plants, as well as aggressive treatment and preventative techniques.

REGIONALITY

Colombia’s size alone certainly contributes to the different profiles that its 20 coffee-growing departments (out of a total 32) express in the cup, but even within growing regions there are plentiful variations due to the microclimates created by mountainous terrain, wind patterns, proximity to the Equator, and, of course, differences in varieties and processing techniques.

The country’s northern regions (e.g. Santa Marta and Santander) with their higher temperatures and lower altitudes, offer full-bodied coffees with less brightness and snap; the central “coffee belt” of Antioquia, Caldas, and Quindio among others, where the bulk of the country’s production lies, produce those easy-drinking “breakfast blend” types, with soft nuttiness and big sweetness but low acidity. The southwestern departments of Nariño, Cauca, and Huila tend to have higher altitude farms, which comes through in more complex acidity and heightened florality in the profiles.

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF COFFEE GROWERS

Founded in 1927, the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (aka the National Federation of Coffee Growers, hence the “FNC” abbreviation) is a large NGO that provides a wide variety of services and support to the country’s coffee producers, regardless of the size of their landholdings or the volume of their production. The marketing arm of the FNC develops campaigns to push not only international consumption of Colombian coffee, but also, more recently, domestic consumption of specifically specialty-grade Colombian coffees. (The creation of the Juan Valdez “character” in the 1950s is the clearest example of the outward-facing advertising that has built the FNC’s reputation; the creation and spread of Juan Valdez cafes in-country continues the institution’s mission to grow domestic consumption as well.)

The FNC also guarantees a purchase price for any coffee grown within Colombia, which provides some degree of financial security to farmers: They have the option to find private buyers or break into specialty markets, or they can tender their coffee to the FNC and receive a somewhat stable (if also rather standard, influenced by the global commodities market) price at any point during the year. This is designed to eliminate some of the market pressures and provide reliable income to the coffee sector, though it also comes under criticism for disincentivising the development of super-specialty lots and microlots.

The scientific arm of the organization, Cenicafé, is devoted to research, development, dissemination, and support throughout the country. A wide-ranging extension service employing more than 1,500 field workers is deployed to meet and consult with farmers on soil management, processing techniques, variety selection, disease prevention and treatment, and other agricultural aspects to coffee farming. A tax is imposed on all coffee exports in order to fund this work as well as the other provisions and protections that the FNC offers, regardless of a producer’s participation or use of FNC services, marketplace, and programs.

The FNC also built and operates a coffee theme park in Quindío (Parque Nacional del Café), in collaboration with the Department Committee of Coffee Growers of Quindío: In it is a coffee-history museum, a coffee garden,  an example of a traditional farmer’s house, and a roller coaster called “La Broca.”