Nodier Andrade

In the mountains near La Plata, nestled with a breathtaking view, Nodier Andrade resides at his farm El Mandarino with his wife, Mari Luz, and their children. The farm’s name comes from a mandarin tree that was planted on the first plot of land Nodier purchased to establish his own farm. Nodier has been involved in coffee since a young age, as his parents were coffee farmers. Growing up surrounded by coffee and observing his parents’ work, he developed a deep love for coffee. Since then, he had always dreamed of having his own coffee farm to carry on the tradition. Nodier began working with coffee in 1999, and in 2005, he started selling high-quality coffee. The decision to focus on specialty coffee at that time was driven by the higher prices being offered, which enabled him to achieve better profitability to sustain the farm and support his family. Over time, Nodier acquired more coffee trees and was able to build his house. On the farm, he has integrated shade trees such as avocado, citrus, guamo, yarumo, and walnut trees among the coffee trees. Every day, he continues to learn and improve his farm. Throughout his years in coffee, Nodier takes pride in the sustainability he has achieved with his coffee and being able to stand out from others. As always, his greatest challenges lie in maintaining quality and the health of his coffee trees.

Nodier initiates the coffee processing with meticulous manual cherry selection, picking only the ripest cherries, which are then transported to the wet mill on the farm. At the mill, the cherries undergo a flotation process to remove any defective cherries, as well as debris such as leaves or small branches. Subsequently, the cherries are pulped without water and sieved to clean the coffee before fermentation. The fermentation process takes place in traditional tiled covered tanks for a period of 28 hours without water. Following fermentation, the coffee is washed and initially placed on shaded beds for four days to allow excess moisture to drain. It is then transferred to covered drying patios, where it will take approximately 20 days to reach the ideal moisture level before being packed and transported to Caravela’s purchasing station.