COLOMBIA | LOS GUAYACANES WASHED | MEDIUM ROAST

This coffee was produced by Marco Fidel López, on his small farm Los Guayacanes (named after the local Guayacán trees found in the region). Located in the town of Las Cochitas, in the municipality of Buesaco, Nariño, this 2.5 hectare plot reaches as high as coffee can be planted in the steep hills surrounding the town — around 1,990 meters above sea level. The region is strikingly mountainous and boasts no fewer than five volcanoes: Chiles, Cumbal, Azufral, Doña Juana, and Galeras.

Don Fidel, as he is known around town, lives at Los Guayacanes with his wife and two youngest daughters. His eldest two children have already moved out of home, but Don Fidel gifted them with a parcel of land from the farm each to ensure they continue with coffee production. Together, they work the fields and process their coffee at Los Guayacanes’ onsite microbeneficio (small wet mill).

Don Fidel and his family share a life story with many other coffee producers working in the region. While Buesaco was under the control of the left-leaning FARC guerrillas, some thirty years ago, the only crop that could be cultivated and commercialised was poppy. Don Fidel was forced to grow poppies for many years and sell them to local rebel forces and drug cartels at very low prices. It wasn’t until the government liberated the area in the mid-2010s that Don Fidel and his neighbouring producers were able to explore other options for their land. Like many, he and his family uprooted the poppy plantations and replaced them with coffee trees — a crop that offers a much more sustainable and profitable future.

Today, Don Fidel grows coffee, anise and corn at Los Guayacanes. An eternal optimist, Don Fidel is passionate about specialty coffee production and is always looking for ways to improve his production. In recent years, he has adopted new “pre-fermentation” techniques, leaving his coffee cherry to sit in bags for up to two days in Buesaco’s cool climate, before de-pulping and processing. This extra step has helped enhance the fruit-driven flavours in his coffee, which beautifully complement the bright and citric profile the region is known for.