Finca La Esperanza is located in Pitalito, Huila, Colombia, and is managed by Carlos Ramón Díaz, first generation coffee grower. The farm consists of 5.5 hectares of land, with 4 hectares dedicated to growing coffee. It sits at an elevation of 1,700 m.a.s.l, boasting around 18,000 coffee trees in production of the Pink Bourbon, Caturra and Castillo varieties.
Carlos only collects ripe coffee cherries and processes them all the same way; The coffee is de-pulped and dry fermented for 45-50 hours in a traditional tiled tank. Once the fermentation process is complete, the parchment is washed three times and dried in a greenhouse, which can take between 12 and 15 days depending on weather conditions.
Carlos and his wife, Luisa, bought Finca El Paraiso about 27 years ago. At that time Carlos was working for other coffee farms in the south of Huila and he learned everything from them. Through this work, he found his passion for the crop and saw a good economic opportunity to raise a family with coffee. He has a daughter and two sons, 27, 25 and 23 years old and they all contribute to the farm’s activities. Additionally, they all also have their own lots. Carlos hopes that when he is no longer able to work on the farm, they will carry on the legacy and continue the coffee tradition.
