Small Producers of Montebello
Mandarin, red grape and dried fruits. Balanced and transparent with lingering sweetness.
The special regional blend is made up of coffee from 13 producers from the municipality of Montebello, in Colombia’s state of Antioquia. Locally, Montebello is known as the “Miracle of the Mountains,” because it was first established on a hilly, hard-to-reach location. As their first time offering us this lot, it is the result of export partner Pergamino Coffee’s commitment to building and investing in new supply relationships in their home state of Antioquia.
Like most regions in Antioquia’s southwest, Montebello has a long history of coffee production, after the crop was first introduced in the late 19th century. Most of this coffee has historically gone to the commercial market, as this highly productive region of Antioquia is part of Colombia’s Eje Cafetero (coffee axis). The state’s unique topography and climate aids this productivity, as Montebello experiences two harvests, with its main one running from September to December. Since other Antioquian producers like the Echavarría family of export partners Pergamino have begun focusing on servicing the specialty market, more smalholder producers (like those who contributed to this lot) have found success and better returns by adapting their growing and processing practices.
Export partners Pergamino know the region well, since they founded their Lomaverde Estate in neighoburing municipality Santa Bárbara in the 1970s. Through decades of developing their farm, and exploring the region’s soils and climate in the process, the Echavarrías became convinced other producers had similar potential to grow and process specialty-grade coffee.
For years, they had sought ways to connect with Santa Bárbara and Montebello’s coffee-growing communities, without much success. As Pedro explained on a recent call, “We always try to find people who can help us with logistics and warehousing. We prefer to work with established operators in town who already know local producers and who have already established a buying relationship with them and earned their trust; starting from scratch is very hard.” Because the region is home to many commercial coffee growers, competition amongst traders and buyers can be fierce, giving producers many avenues for selling their coffee — and buyers new to the market have a hard time breaking ground.
Because their strategy has worked in nearby Urrao, and further afield in El Bombo, Huila and San Antonio, Cauca, Pergamino set out to find a local co-op to partner with, eventually starting conversations with Cooperative Agrícola Cardinal. “They’re very well-connected and have buying points in Santa Bárbara and Montebello,” Pedro told us. “They also have a lab, and even though it wasn’t designed to evaluate specialty-grade, we installed one of our sample roasters in and one of our cuppers spent the harvest with them, and we have been meeting regularly since. The project is just getting started, but we have high hopes for it.”
Like most Colombian coffee-growing regions, producers here tend to some older Caturra trees, as it was the most popular variety during the 1970s and 1980s when many farms were established throughout the country, along with pest-resistant hybrids Colombia and Castillo. Minimal chemical inputs are used, and most work is done manually by farmers and their families. Now that relationships with local producers have been established, Pergamino hope to use their knowledge to further elevate the quality of what they deliver. As Pedro put it, “We’re really happy with the coffees we are buying here. Our goal for the future is to use Lomaverde as a model farm to provide technical assistance, because it’d be easy for producers to attend. We want to host workshops were we can show everything we’ve learned about producing specialty-grade lots in Santa Bárbara. This project is really close to our hearts.”
ABOUT ANTIOQUIA
Antioquia is located in central northwestern Colombia. Coffee was introduced to the region in the latter part of the 19thcentury. Since then, this mountainous, fertile department has 110,000 hectares of coffee, with 97% of the region’s producers being considered ‘small’ by the CENICAFE, Colombia’s coffee federation. After Huila, Antioquia is the country’s most productive coffee region.
The department only recently became more accessible to specialty coffee buyers – largely thanks to a transformation of the department led by Sergio Fajardo, who was the governor of the department between 2012-2016. Sergio transformed Antioquia’s capital city, Medellín, from a violent and dangerous place to a world-class tourist destination with a strong economy. Coffee has played a significant role in this this transformation, and as access to many producers has improved, the region has become one of Colombia’s most important and celebrated coffee-producing areas.
Our export partners for this coffee, Pergamino, have worked hard commercialise specialty-grade coffee throughout Antioquia, and have uncovered some stunning coffees and very dedicated producers in the process. They work closely with the producers to give them feedback on their coffees (provided by Pergamino’s expert team of cuppers) and provide top up payments when the coffee is sold at a higher premium.
Head here to learn more about the work of Pergamino in Colombia.
HOW THIS COFFEE WAS PROCESSED
This coffee was selectively hand-harvested, with most labour being provided by each producer and their families. The coffee was processed using the washed method at each property’s individual ‘micro-beneficio’ (mill).
The coffee was then hand pulped and placed into a fermentation tank. Because of the cooler climate in Santa Bárbara, producers tend to ferment the coffees for longer than usual and will often blend several days’ worth of pickings over a three day period. Every day freshly picked cherry is pulped and added to the mix. This is key, as it lowers the pH level and – along with the cooler temperatures – allows for an extended fermentation process. This fermentation process contributes to a vibrant, winey acidity in the coffee’s cup profile.
The coffee was then carefully dried (over 10–18 days) on a patio. Once dry, the coffee was delivered to Pergamino’s warehouse in Medellín, where it was cupped and graded, and then rested in parchment until it was ready for export.
