Rafael Alfonso Mateus
PARTNER ́S NAME: AURA ELENA PAZ RODRIGUEZ
FINCA LA ESPERANZA STORY
La Esperanza was the Rafael’s parent’s farm and it is named this way as it represents the hope which you must never forget when working together as a family to achieve a mutual goal. This family operation is as much a business as it is a lifestyle, Rafael cultivates various other crops and even has a small fish farm.
Rafael comes from a long heritage of coffee farms and even learnt about production from his grandparents, who worked on the same land that Rafael does today. For this he is grateful, that he has been able to take over where they left off, and do so with great success. His current focus in on improving his post-harvest processing through building better infrastructure and experimentation, although he admits that this is somewhat a never-ending goal, as what he does evolves over time.
Rafael’s hard work has led to him producing outstanding quality, but this is only part of the picture. He says, “having a farm of varying altitudes and good soils and a favourable climate makes this farm special”. Rafael hopes that the coffee he produces can be enjoyed by many people!
Farm Varieties
Size

Total Farm Area
30 Hectares

Area in Coffee
8 Hectares
Location

Country
Colombia

Municipality
Palestina

Department
Huila

Elevation
1,700 MASL
Technical info

Harvest
First semester: June – August
Second semester: September – November
.

Processing Method
Washed and fermented for 36 hours.

Shade
Guamos, Avocados y native trees

Drying Method
Marquesina for 20 days