We’re happy to bring you another coffee from Colombia’s Nariño department, the part of the country with the highest production of coffee. We’ve shared some great coffees from Nariño in the past 12 months, and this is another favourite (and not just for the name).
At 2000 metres above sea level on the Eastern Andean range and only 100km from the Ecuadorian border, coffee producer Tito Ferney believed that it was possible to produce speciality coffee, and so he created Finca El Sauce. Along with his family, he planted the three hectare farm with Castillo trees.
The Castillo variety was created by the National Centre for Coffee Investigation (CNIC) to combat the leaf rust phenomenon. Since its creation in 2005, it has demonstrated high productivity and an excellent balanced cup.
Tito and his family start to handpick the ripe cherries in May, avoiding the green, yellow and pink ones, which are not yet ready for harvest. Once depulped and fermented for 12 hours, the beans are dried on patios for five days.
During this entire process Tito demonstrates his passion for coffee, carefully monitoring every step of the process. His crops grow in the rich soils which benefit from volcanic ash from the six active volcanoes in the region. He also takes advantage of the abundance of water in the region, keeping his trees strong and ready to produce better coffee every year. This is how he manages to offer the Western Coffee Cooperative such exceptional coffee year in year out.
