The History, Culture, and Stories of Colombia's La Esperanza Estate Premium Single-Origin Coffee Beans

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FrontStreet Coffee · Colombia La Esperanza Estate Premium Single Origin Bean's History, Culture, and Stories

Colombia's La Esperanza Estate manually screens for defective beans at a ratio of about 4%, roasted to light roast (city) with a weight loss ratio of 14%. Empty shells and defective beans account for 6%. The fresh grassy aroma when picking defective beans feels like walking on a grassy field after rain. Increasing the roasting temperature slightly with a steeper heating curve preserves more aroma and sweet-sour variations—this is La Esperanza Estate's correct choice.

Light Roast City (Fragrant)

A rare dark plum acidity in Colombian coffee that is not astringent but bright and delicate. The mouthfeel is smooth, lacking the traditional rich Colombian style, instead resembling Costa Rican coffee flavors. The acidity quickly transforms into plum-like sweetness.

Dark Roast (General C)

Raisin aroma serves as the background foundation. The flavor revolves around fruit maple syrup ranges, with fruity milk sweetness distributed across the tongue without feeling particularly heavy. As the coffee temperature gradually decreases, the entire sensation moves toward deeper, rounder, and sweeter notes.

La Esperanza Estate is absolutely Colombia's top-tier estate.

Its subsidiary estates have won Best of Panama championships (2008) and runner-up (2009). In 2012, three products secured incredible 2nd, 3rd, and 7th place positions among the top ten in SCAA Coffee of the Year. In the recently announced GFA (Good Food Award), La Esperanza Estate also became the only award-winning estate outside Ethiopia, Kenya, and Panama regions.

As for high-scoring records above 95 points on Coffee Review, they are dazzlingly numerous—so many that the editor gave up summarizing them all.

La Esperanza Estate has four estates: Esperanza, Las Margaritas, Cerro Azul, and Potosi.

• Won Best of Panama championship (2008) and runner-up (2009)
• In 2012, three products secured incredible 2nd, 3rd, and 7th place positions among the top ten in SCAA Coffee of the Year
• In the recently announced GFA (Good Food Award), La Esperanza Estate became the only award-winning estate outside Ethiopia, Kenya, and Panama regions
• 2014 WBC Runner-up Competition Bean
• 2012, 2013 US Brewers Cup Two-time Champion Competition Bean
• 2014 Coffee Review Annual Best 16
• 2014 Coffee Review Annual Best 25
• 2013 Coffee Review Annual Best 08
• October 2014 Coffee Review 95 points
• April 2014 Coffee Review 95 points
• August 2013 Coffee Review 96 points
• November 2012 Coffee Review 96 points

Colombia La Esperanza Estate Café Granja La Esperanza

Café Granja La Esperanza consists of six farms belonging to the Herrera family, located in El Valle del Cauca and Cundinamarca. The owner is Rigoberto Herrera.

Farms in Colombia include La Esperanza, Cerro Azul, Potosi, Las Margaritas, and Hawaii, covering eight microclimate zones.

La Esperanza, Cerro Azul, Potosi, and Las Margaritas are all located in Trujillo, Valle del Cauca, a western province of Colombia that faces the Pacific Ocean.

Trujillo is situated on the eastern mountain range with relatively flat terrain, also located west of the Cauca River, with altitudes ranging from 1000 to 3000 meters. The valley's warm climate meets the Pacific's cold air, creating average temperatures and rainfall suitable for coffee cultivation.

The soil suitable for cultivation in this region mostly contains volcanic ash and organic matter. However, phosphorus content in this area is generally low, so Café Granja La Esperanza also formulates its own natural fertilizers to ensure coffee tree health and coffee bean quality.

Interestingly, within Granja La Esperanza, they grow a coffee tree called Laurina (BOURBON variety), which naturally has low caffeine content. However, because the fruit is more fragile than regular coffee cherries and yields are low.

La Esperanza farm grows Caturra, Geisha, Moka, Bourbon (including red, yellow, Tekizik), Laurina, Pacamara, San Bernardo, and Pache.

Altitude Comparison:

• La Esperanza: 1400-1700 meters
• Cerro Azul: 1700-2000 meters
• Potosi: 1400-2000 meters
• Las Margaritas: 1400-1800 meters

Area Comparison:

• La Esperanza: 34 hectares
• Cerro Azul: 18 hectares
• Potosi: 52 hectares
• Las Margaritas: 34 hectares

Café Granja La Esperanza's Geisha Story:

In 2005, the Herrera family rented La Cardeida Estate in Boquete, Panama, right next to La Esmeralda, which is famous for Geisha. Initially, botanist Hernando Tapasco assisted in experimental cultivation of the Geisha variety. At the beginning, the cultivation team spent two years in Panama learning about Geisha characteristics. In 2008, they succeeded in "The Best of Panama," where La Cardeida's Geisha won the championship. In 2012, at SCAA's Coffee of the Year, their washed Geishas from Cerro Azul, Las Magaritas, and Buenos Aires respectively won 2nd, 3rd, and 7th places.

La Esperanza also grows Geisha varieties, including rare certified organic varieties (Geisha organica). All cherries are hand-picked, and workers harvest more frequently than usual to ensure quality.

Other Estate Characteristics:

☁ Cerro Azul

Located next to La Esperanza at higher altitude. Although it has strong sunlight, cloud and fog appear during sunrise and sunset, reducing water evaporation and providing cooling effects. The valley location transforms Pacific sea breezes into colorful clouds, combined with volcanic soil and abundant rainfall, making it very suitable for Geisha cultivation. Although about 7 varieties and approximately 45,000 Geisha trees are planted here, the naming is very strict—only 5,000 to 7,000 trees that can express Cerro Azul characteristics can bear the Cerro Azul name. Those considered AAA reserve are only 2 of the 7 varieties, and must grow at 1800-2000 meters altitude.

Coffee processing is fully washed, including 16 hours of fermentation, then moisture removal in drying machines, followed by sun drying on raised beds. Harvest workers here must undergo five months of training.

Colombia's suitable climate provides a true "natural pasture" for coffee. Colombia's coffee trees are mainly cultivated in the Andes Mountains region on steep slopes around 1300 meters altitude, where the annual temperature is approximately 18°C, annual rainfall is 2000-3000mm, at 1°-11°15' N latitude and 72°-78° W longitude, with specific altitude ranges exceeding 2000 meters. Due to the special combination of various factors—latitude, altitude, soil, plant species origins and coffee varieties in Colombia's coffee-growing regions, climate patterns created by the dual paths of tropical convergence zones, changing terrain and light conditions throughout the day, favorable temperature ranges year-round, appropriate and well-distributed rainfall, and some common cultural practices including selective harvesting and transformation processes including washing and drying—conditions are very suitable for coffee growth, with mild climate, humid air, and harvest possible year-round.

Colombia's coffee varieties are mainly Arabica. Plants are small trees or large shrubs, 5-8 meters tall, usually with many branches at the base; old branches are grayish-white with swollen nodes, young branches are hairless and flattened. Leaves are thin and leathery, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, 6-14 cm long, 3.5-5 cm wide, with long acuminate tips 10-15 mm long, base cuneate or slightly obtuse, rarely rounded, entire or shallowly wavy, hairless on both sides, with or without small pores in vein axils on the undersides; midribs are prominent on both leaf surfaces, lateral veins 7-13 per side; petioles 8-15 mm long; stipules broadly triangular, with conical long tips or awn tips on upper parts of young branches, often acute on old branches, 3-6 mm long. Several cymes cluster in leaf axils, each inflorescence has 2-5 flowers, without peduncles or with very short peduncles; flowers are fragrant, with pedicels 0.5-1 mm long; bract bases are somewhat connate, dimorphic, with 2 broadly triangular ones of nearly equal length and width, and 2 lanceolate ones twice as long as wide, leaf-like; calyx tube is cylindrical, 2.5-3 mm long, calyx limb truncate or with 5 small teeth; corolla is white, length varies by variety, generally 10-18 mm long, usually 5-lobed at apex, rarely 4 or 6-lobed, lobes often longer than corolla tube, apex often obtuse; anthers extend beyond corolla tube, 6-8 mm long; style 12-14 mm long, stigma 2-lobed, 3-4 mm long. Berries are broadly elliptical when ripe, red, 12-16 mm long, 10-12 mm in diameter, exocarp hard and membranous, mesocarp fleshy and sweet; seeds are convex on dorsal surface, flat on ventral surface with longitudinal grooves, 8-10 mm long, 5-7 mm in diameter. Flowering period is March-April. Colombia's suitable climate provides a true "natural pasture" for coffee. Colombia's coffee trees are mainly cultivated in the Andes Mountains region on steep slopes around 1300 meters altitude, where the annual temperature is approximately 18°C, annual rainfall is 2000-3000mm, at 1°-11°15' N latitude and 72°-78° W longitude, with specific altitude ranges exceeding 2000 meters.

☁ Las Magaritas

A bit further from Cerro Azul, in Colombia's central mountain range, part of the Andes. Regardless of soil, altitude, and weather, conditions are optimal, so there are many rare varieties here, such as Pacamara, Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, Tekisic, Mokka. Besides Geisha, there's also Sudan Rume, with copper-colored leaves. This tree can resist many coffee diseases and is mostly used for hybrid grafting. I hear cupping is not inferior to Geisha, but growth is not as stable as Geisha, so it hasn't been mass-propagated.

Las Margaritas's Geisha requires 14 hours of fermentation, fully washed, then fully sun-dried. Due to the humid climate here, other beans relying entirely on sun drying are relatively few.

Let's compare the appearance of three coffee seedlings: Geisha, Sudan Rume, and Laurina

☁ Potosi

The farm faces Las Magaritas. Coffee cultivation began during Rigoberto Herrera's great-grandfather's era, so varieties are mainly Colombian and Caturra.

Caturra coffee trees

Besides coffee quality being valued, the estate also considers environmental protection and employee welfare, implementing various methods to improve talent, optimize environment, and productivity.

Colombia

Population: 47,073,000

Colombia has well-defined growing regions and the diverse, impressive coffees they produce. Whether you prefer round, heavy coffee mouthfeel, or refreshing, fruit flavors (or something in between), it's most likely Colombian coffee. Colombia is divided by geography, making it easy to discover that the region's coffees share many common characteristics. If you like coffee from one region, you'll likely like others from the same region. Coffee trees in Colombia have two harvests annually—the main harvest and the second harvest, locally called "mitaca."

CAUCA

CAUCA is most famous for its coffee cultivation around Inza and the Popayán city's Meseta de Popayán. The high altitude provides favorable growing conditions, and proximity to the equator and surrounding mountains protects coffee from Pacific humidity and southern trade winds. This creates a very stable climate year-round. Additionally, the region's coffee has significant volcanic soil. Historically, there is a single rainy season from October to December annually.

• Altitude: 1,700-2,100m
• Harvest: March-June (main crop), November-December (mitaca crop)

TOLIMA

TOLIMA is located in one of Colombia's notorious FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebel strongholds, which maintained control until recently. Tolima has suffered from conflict in recent years, making access difficult. High-quality coffee from this region comes from small farmers cultivating very small micro-plots, exported through cooperatives.

• Altitude: 1,200-1,900m
• Harvest: March-June (main crop), October-December (mitaca crop)
• Varieties: 9% Typica, 74% Caturra, 17% Castillo

NARINO

Some of Colombia's highest quality coffees grow in Narino, which are truly stunning and flavor-complex. Growing coffee in many high-altitude areas here is challenging, with coffee trees potentially susceptible to leaf rust disease. However, Narino is close enough to the equator that the climate is suitable for coffee tree cultivation. Among Narino's 40,000 producers, the vast majority are small farmers, each cultivating less than 2 hectares (4.4 acres). Many form groups and institutions to support each other and interact with FNC. In fact, the average farm size is less than 1 hectare (2.2 acres), with only 37 producers in the region owning more than 5 hectares (11 acres) of land.

• Altitude: 1,500-2,300m (4,900-7,500ft)
• Harvest: April-June
• Varieties: 54% Typica, 29% Caturra, 17% Castillo

HUILA

Huila has an excellent combination of soil and geographical advantages for coffee cultivation. Some of the most complex, fruit-forward Colombian coffees come from here. The region has over 70,000 coffee growers covering more than 16,000 hectares (39,500 acres).

• Altitude: 1,250-2,000m
• Harvest: September-December (main crop), April-May (mitaca crop)
• Main Varieties: 11% Typica, 75% Caturra, 14% Castillo

Colombia - La Esperanza Estate

Colombian coffee has long shed its image of inferior and base coffee. Through recent coffee competitions, people have come to better understand Colombian coffee. Good coffee usually comes from excellent estates and some small, special regions like the previous Colombia-Narino region. However, these coffees truly have limited production. Before coffee competitions, Colombian coffee grading was based on bean size, but this grading only represents bean size and has no relative relationship to quality—"bigger beans are better" is an outdated grading system. Instead, excellent coffee beans from small-production, small-cultivation-area estates or cooperatives are generally smaller, rounder, and more complete. This is the current mainstream of Colombian coffee—quality is the price guarantee.

Colombian coffee is widely sold and used mainly because of its mild, pure flavor profile, and it's very easy to brew well. Therefore, it's very popular in every household as the best companion for desserts and cakes. With Colombian coffee, you don't need to go to a coffee bar to enjoy the fragrant atmosphere it brings. Whether as simple black coffee or in various coffee recipes using Colombian coffee, both are excellent choices.

Colombia's southwestern Huila region is an excellent coffee production area, along with the Narino and Tolima regions. Annually, almost all top 10 in Colombian coffee competitions come from these three regions. They also all primarily consist of small-production, small-cultivation-area coffee farmers. La Esperanza Estate is located in the Huila region. The estate is not an individual or family coffee farm but rather a collection of several coffee farmers collectively selling under the La Esperanza name. La Esperanza Estate is distributed in forests at altitudes of 1400-1650 meters, with hand-picked fully ripe coffee cherries. Coffee farmers insist on good growing environments and persistently control excellent green bean quality. It was the championship estate in the 2007 Colombian Coffee Competition and also secured 9th, 12th, and 14th places in 2008 (different coffee growers). In November 2008, American coffee master Kenneth Davids (author of Coffee Review and The Complete Guide to Coffee Roasting) gave it a high score of 93 points, making it Colombia's top-tier estate.

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