ONIBUS COFFEE COLOMBIA / Rubiela Velasquez

This is the new origin version of Columbia Trima.

This coffee is produced by producer Rubiera Velasquez and won an award at the Colombian Washed Coffee Festival held in September 2023 by local trader Fair Field Trading. FFT attaches great importance to fair and impartial evaluation of producers, and holds competitions focusing on the traditional refining method of water washing. This is the second time ONIBUS COFFEE has brought coffee to the shelves since last year.

Rubiera Velázquez and her husband Vitelmo Ordóñez, also coffee growers from Nariño, have been farming land in San Isidro, Planadas Tolima, since 1994 and working to transform it into Finca La Esmeralda. Despite the obstacles they face, they remain steadfast in their commitment to growing coffee and their journey is truly inspiring. A two-hour walk from the nearest road, La Esmeralda has grown from a basic means of feeding a family into a significant coffee-growing project. This transformation is a testament to their unwavering determination and coffee-growing skills.

Located between 1,900 and 2,000 meters above sea level, La Esmeralda produces a variety of coffee varieties, including Castillo Tambo, Castillo, Typica, Caturra, Geisha and, most recently, Papayo. The strategic decision to invest in and grow papaya, a promising mutant of the Caturra variety, in 2022 reflects Mr. Velasquez’s forward thinking in coffee cultivation. Mr. Velazquez's commitment to coffee farming is particularly evident in his four-year effort to establish Geisha Hacienda 2,000 meters above sea level. Despite agronomic difficulties and initial cupping results that did not meet expectations, she continued to focus on fine-tuning, using a painstaking trial-and-error approach, adjusting the fermentation scheme to the variety and adapting the process to the climatic conditions.

This adaptability has significantly improved the quality of La Esmeralda's coffee, as evidenced by her Caturra batch placing 13th at the 2023 Fairfield Columbia Wash Festival. Mr. Velasquez and Mr. Ordóñez decided to attend the 2023 Colombian Washed Coffee Festival Awards Ceremony and embarked on a two-day trip. The journey showcases their dedication to coffee production and openness to new experiences.

This batch comes from the Caturra variety and is processed in the traditional, fully washed way. Harvested cherries are left to ripen for 1 to 2 days (24 to 40 hours) and then the pulp is removed. It is then fermented in tanks for 25 to 40 hours, washed three times, and transported to drying racks for 15 to 30 days. Harvest times are April, May and June, while Mitaca's harvest times are October, November and December. Coffee is dried in an overhead dryer (Marquezina).