Colombia - Emanuel Enciso

The Story

On the northern border of Colombia’s Nevado de Huila National Park, a vast expanse of glaciers, dramatic volcanic ridges, and dense Andean forest sits the collection of remote rural coffee farming villages of Gaitana.  Locals claim it was in Gaitana that coffee was first introduced to Colombia in the early 18th Century by Jesuit priests, and while that local legend may be impossible to verify, Gaitana certainly looks the part of coffee paradise.  

Sitting at the high elevation of 1800-1900 meters above sea level (around 6000 feet) is Finca La Roma, a small coffee farm owned by the Enciso family.  For over 20 years, the Encisos have cultivated coffee in this region, transporting their unprocessed coffee cherries to processing stations located miles away on treacherous, often muddy mountain dirt roads.  For years the extended Enciso family and their neighbors in Gaitana received only base market rate for their coffee, with no input or control over the quality of the final product or how it was marketed and resold.

In 2016, Emanuel Enciso, a younger member of the family, fueled with a passion for specialty coffee, sparked a project that would change coffee production in Gaitana for the better.  The Encisos came together to set up a community wet mill and drying stations to process their own coffee and that of their neighboring farmers, many of whom are indigenous farmers from the Nasa tribe.  This local processing facility reduced the need to transport coffee over long distances, enabled Gaitana farmers to have control over the quality of their harvest from start to finish, and the Encisos sealed the deal by paying their farming neighbors 30% more for their coffee cherries than market rate.

Since then, 3 members of the Enciso family have become licensed Q Graders (coffee’s equivalent to wine sommeliers), ensuring strict processing procedures that have led to huge leaps in quality and consistency.  This attention to detail and quality really shows in the cup with great sweetness, clarity and complexity.

We’ve named this lot after Emanuel Enciso, in honor of the pivotal role he played in raising the quality and collective prosperity for all coffee farmers in Gaitana.

The Cup

Gaitania is home to a lesser-known variety of Arabica called San Bernardo, a natural dwarfed Typica mutation with bright acidity and rich chocolate notes. Blended together with the well-loved Caturra, Finca La Roma’s coffee has a rich flavor profile of maple syrup, chocolate and a plum-like aroma, with a smooth aftertaste with a hint of ripe fruit.  The cup finishes with a light citrus acidity, terrific body and leaves an overall well-balanced impression on the palate.