Jose Alvaro Cruz

In the coffee Eden of Planadas in the Tolima region, tucked in the mountains with its scenic views, we find El Vergel, the farm of Jose Alvaro Cruz. He is a seasoned coffee farmer who has been at it for 55 years and counting. His father, also a coffee farmer, gifted him the plot of land without nothing and Jose Alvaro built everything from scratch; the house and planted the first coffee trees. Since then, he has been constant with his coffee and 13 years ago made the switch to specialty coffee. Before turning into specialty, the mantra of work at the farm, was always to achieve quality but with the jump Jose Alvaro focused more on all the small details of the process. Seeking quality has brought him better prices and as such a better quality of life for his family, with his son working in coffee now a days. Part of the farm is a forest reserve – 7 hectares – that are well taken care off and it has three water springs.

As per the goals for these upcoming years, the first one is to get the organic certification for 2022 and to have new varieties such as Tabi and Bourbon. Jose Alvaro is constantly looking to implement new technics to improve quality but always seeking sustainability and environmentally friendly practices. He is always pushing forward to improve quality and still going strong with his coffee.