Coffee Farm in Colombia | Direct Trade and Specialty Coffee
Our farm in Colombia
Our farm, located in Vereda Arayan Bajo, San Francisco, Cundinamarca, is much more than a production site. It is a living space, cared for daily by our family, where coffee grows as part of a complete natural system.
The farm is managed by Nelly Fonseca, a female coffee grower whose dedication, experience, and perseverance define every stage of the process. Her work represents not only the continuity of an agricultural tradition but also female independence and leadership in the field. Every decision, from tree care to coffee drying, goes through her hands.
We work directly with our family at the origin, without intermediaries.
Production and approach
We work on an intentionally controlled scale, with approximately 3,500 Castillo Arabica coffee trees. This approach allows us to prioritize quality over volume, taking care of every detail from the origin.
Each harvest is evaluated through quality analysis following the standards of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). This process allows us to establish an objective baseline for each year and make continuous improvements in our systems and processes.
Historically, our coffees maintain a score of 85 points or higher, placing them within the specialty coffee category.
Based on this, we also collaborate with other small farms that share our standards, expanding the project's scope and strengthening coffee sustainability at the origin.
Preparing the farm: weed control with the “chop and drop” method, naturally returning nutrients to the soil.
Castillo variety: adaptation, quality, and future
On our farm, we cultivate Castillo Arabica coffee, a variety developed in Colombia in 2005 by Cenicafé, the research center of the National Federation of Coffee Growers. It is the result of a cross between Caturra and the Timor Hybrid, created with the aim of improving crop resistance without sacrificing cup quality.
The Castillo variety has gained relevance in Colombia as a response to the challenges of climate change. The progressive increase in temperatures in many coffee-growing areas has made it necessary to adopt more resistant and adaptable varieties, capable of maintaining stable production under increasingly variable conditions.
One of its main strengths is its high resistance to coffee leaf rust and other diseases, which allows for reducing reliance on chemical treatments and promotes more sustainable crop management.
In addition to its resistance, Castillo is a highly productive variety adaptable to different altitudes within Colombian coffee regions, making it a key option to ensure the continuity of quality coffee in the country.
In the cup, it offers a balanced and accessible profile, with moderate citric acidity, good body, and notes that often recall chocolate, caramel, and nuts, with nuances that can vary depending on the environment and process.
As part of our quality control, we work with a rigorous bean size classification. More than 90% of our harvests reach a mesh size of 20 or higher, indicating large, dense, and well-developed beans—a characteristic associated with slow maturation at altitude and higher cup quality.
In our case, careful harvesting, controlled fermentation, and slow drying allow us to highlight its best qualities, resulting in a clean, sweet, and well-structured coffee.
Developing cherries: coffee grows slowly, gaining size and complexity before reaching its optimal point of ripeness.
Altitude and natural environment
The farm is located at 1,705 meters above sea level, in a mountainous area of the eastern Andes mountain range. At this altitude, coffee matures slowly, allowing for a greater concentration of sugars and the development of more complex and balanced profiles.
In the cup, this translates into a bright acidity, natural sweetness, and great clarity.
The environment surrounding the coffee is diverse and productive. In addition to coffee trees, the farm cultivates lemon, orange, and other citrus fruits, as well as banana, plantain, cassava, avocado, guava, guama, papaya, and mango. Orchids also grow there, reflecting the natural richness of the region.
These crops not only supply the family but also fulfill an essential function within the ecosystem: they provide natural shade, help conserve soil moisture, and contribute to the biological balance of the crop.
Don Carlos preparing the coffee sacks, an essential step before the coffee leaves the farm for the world.
Life on the farm
The farm is full of life. About 40 hens provide fresh eggs daily, along with turkeys raised in the natural environment. Three dogs guard the property and four cats are part of daily life, creating a dynamic environment where agricultural production coexists with daily life.
This natural balance is not incidental. It is part of the system that allows coffee to grow in a healthy, diverse, and sustainable environment.
Tradition shared: Doña Nelly and her grandson, learning and caring for farm life from an early age.
Process and quality control
The coffee is harvested manually, selecting only cherries at their optimal point of ripeness. This selective process is key to ensuring quality from the start.
After harvesting, the coffee undergoes a float classification, where water is used to separate defective beans that float, allowing only the densest and highest quality ones to continue the process.
Fermentation is carried out dry for approximately 24 hours, with minimal or no water use. This method allows for greater control over the development of the coffee's profile, highlighting its natural characteristics.
Subsequently, the coffee is washed and dried in a covered solar dryer, similar to a small greenhouse with a transparent plastic cover. This system protects the bean from rain, excessive humidity, and animal interference, allowing for uniform and controlled drying.
The entire process is carried out in small batches as the harvest progresses, which allows us to maintain consistency and attention to detail at every stage.
Real quality comparison: on the left, our selected coffee; on the right, commercial coffee with defects and impurities.
Natural pest management and crop protection
One of the biggest challenges in global coffee production is the coffee berry borer, a small insect that can affect both yield and bean quality if not properly controlled.
Instead of relying on chemical pesticides, our farm applies an approach based on the natural balance of the ecosystem and biological control methods.
One of the key tools we use is the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana, a natural agent that specifically acts on the coffee berry borer. This microorganism adheres to the insect, penetrates it, and eliminates it from within, effectively interrupting its life cycle without affecting the environment.
This type of biological control is widely recognized as a sustainable alternative, as it significantly reduces the pest population without resorting to aggressive insecticides. Furthermore, the use of Beauveria bassiana has proven to be an effective tool within integrated management programs, helping to keep infestations under control and preserving the ecosystem's balance.
Our approach is not based on a single solution, but on the combination of careful practices. Constant collection of ripe, overripe, and dry cherries before and during harvest is fundamental, as it prevents the pest from completing its cycle within the fruit and significantly reduces its spread.
This management system requires more manual labor and continuous attention, but it allows us to achieve something essential: producing high-quality coffee without relying on chemicals that can affect the soil, the environment, or the purity of the cup.
The result is a cleaner, safer coffee that is truer to its origin—where every decision on the farm is aimed at protecting both the quality of the bean and the health of the ecosystem that produces it.
The coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) drilling through the cherry. Without control, it can develop inside the bean and affect both quality and yield.
Direct trade: why it matters
Coffee is one of the most consumed products in the world, but the reality at its origin is very different from what the consumer imagines.
In the traditional model, coffee passes through multiple intermediaries before reaching the final consumer. In this process, each actor takes a share of the value, and the producer—who does the most intensive work—receives only a fraction of the final price.
In many cases, the price received by the coffee farmer is directly influenced by the international market, a system that does not always reflect the real production costs at the origin.
Behind each harvest is a cost structure that consumers rarely see. A coffee farmer must cover fertilizers, labor, transportation, fuel, farm maintenance, and other essential expenses. When these costs increase—as has happened in recent years with fertilizers and fuel—the pressure on the producer becomes even greater.
Added to this are factors beyond their control, such as years of low production, adverse weather conditions, or pests, which can significantly reduce a harvest's yield.
When the price received does not cover these costs, the impact is direct. Many producers are forced to work longer hours, reduce investment in their crops, or incur debt to keep the farm running.
Perfect ripening: only red cherries are harvested, guaranteeing quality from the origin.
Our model: a fairer system
At AlmAmericas, we work with a direct relationship approach, inspired by fair trade but adapted to a closer and more transparent structure.
By reducing intermediaries, we can pay a price that better reflects the quality of the coffee and the effort of the producer. This model allows a greater portion of the final value to return to the origin.
This translates into real benefits:
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Greater economic stability for the producer
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Ability to invest in the farm
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Better conditions for workers
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Greater consistency in coffee quality
Beyond price, it's about creating a sustainable system over time, where producing quality coffee is viable for the families who make it possible.
Less distance, more value at origin: direct connection between Colombia and Spain.
A coffee that builds the future
The result is a coffee that faithfully reflects its origin: clean, balanced, and with a clear expression of the environment in which it is grown.
Every cup is the result of a system where nature, tradition, and human care work in harmony.
Choosing this coffee is participating in a different model—one where quality, transparency, and respect for the origin are part of every decision.
Sunset at Finca Nelly, where every day of work in the fields gives way to the calm of the mountains.
Discover more
If you want to delve deeper into the origin, process, and impact of our coffee, we invite you to continue exploring:
Each page is part of the same story: understanding where coffee comes from, how it is produced, and why every decision at the origin matters.
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Among our most representative pieces are the authentic Wayuu bags available in Spain.
