What Nelson taught us about consistency
Four harvests from the same two hectares in Huila, and the lesson was not about coffee at all.
Four harvests from the same two hectares in Huila, and the lesson was not about coffee at all.
Nelson Ramírez farms two hectares of Caturra and Castillo outside Pitalito. We have bought his coffee four years running, which in specialty terms makes us unusually boring — most roasters chase the new lot, the higher score, the more interesting story.
The case for staying put
The first year we bought from Nelson, the coffee cupped at 84. The fourth year it cupped at 87, and the only variable that had changed was that he knew we would be back. Guaranteed offtake bought him a covered drying bed. The covered bed bought him three extra days of controlled drying. Those three days are the difference between 84 and 87.
Nobody improves a farm for a buyer who might not come back.
It is the least romantic sourcing story we have, and easily the most useful one.