The Colombia Tolima is a big coffee with personality. Its flavor profile features pronounced ripe fruit notes of pomegranate and cherry layered with caramel sweetness, Hershey-toned chocolate, and a citrusy character from aroma to finish. Balanced and creamy with hints of floral tones, the Tolima is hard not to love for its classic, lush-bodied qualities.
The Tolima department occupies a valley between two ridges of the Andes, about halfway between the country's capital city of Bogota and the "salsa capital" of Cali. Tolima's fame as a coffee producing region is relatively recent, as the region was essentially hidden in plain sight cradled between other well-known coffee growing regions, such as Cauca and Huila.
This microlot is sourced from family-owned farms organized around the ASCISP, the Asociacion de Caficultores Indigenas de San Pedro located in the municipality of Planadas in the department of Tolima, Colombia. The organization operates as a support structure for the local Paez indigenous group (also known as Nasa) who are scattered around the municipal district of Planadas.
A regional history of armed conflict and coca leaf production has isolated these small coffee producers and exposed them to high rates of violence. ASCISP has invested its efforts to help members break through the cycle of conflict to produce quality coffee that will yield better earnings for the indigenous farmers and their families.
Origin Information:
Grower: Indigenous smallholder farmers organized around Asociacion de Caficultores Indigenas de San Pedro (ASCISP)
Variety: Castillo, Caturra and Colombia
Region: San Pedro, Planadas, Tolima, Colombia
Harvest: May - August
Altitude: 1800 - 2000 meters above sea level
Soil: Volcanic loam
Process: Fully washed after pulping and fermenting, then dried in the sun
