Finca Canta Ranas, Colombia | FILTER

Details:

Expanding across the eastern slopes of the Andes in the central West of Colombia is the department of Tolima. This region is the third-largest coffee producing area in Colombia thanks to its climbing altitudes and ideal climates. Additionally, the Magdalena River basin carves through Tolima, bringing fresh water and nutrients to the soils. 

It is here where Edward Sandoval has his farm, Finca Canta Ranas, which translates to mean ‘singing frogs,’ named after the many frogs that chirp near the local creek during the night. Edward is a third-generation coffee producer who actually studied Agroindustrial Engineering and worked in coffee quality assurance in both the public and private sectors for over 14 years.

One day, he decided he craved a change of pace, and bought an area of land near his parents and planted coffee. Initially, he cultivated Chiroso, Gesha, Moka, Wush Wush, Caturra, and Bourbon. Thanks to his experience in the coffee industry, he had extensive knowledge about quality and which varietals to plant. This allowed his farm to prosper and gain prominence throughout Tolima.

Specifically, this lot is comprised of the Chiroso varietal. Originally thought to be related to Caturra and Bourbon via the Typica strain, recent research has suggested that this variety is more closely related to an Ethiopian Local Landrace: how it made its way to Colombia is still a mystery.

This coffee was selected due to its high quality, by our partners in Colombia, Pergamino Coffee Exporters. Mercanta has worked with Pedro and Leo (Director of Coffee at Pergamino) for many years and has greatly supported their quality-improvement work with small producer organizations. By working with small scale producers such as Edward, Pergamino and Mercanta ensure a better price for producers, as well as highlighting the work that small coffee producers in Tolima, Colombia are doing to improve the quality of their coffee. Today, Pergamino work with over 600 smallholder producers, helping provide opportunities to these producers all over the producing areas of Colombia.