Producer Info
Oporapa, Huila, Colombia | 1700 masl | Gesha Washed | Castillo – Natural
Hervey and Rocio Cuellar have been coffee producers their entire lives, initially growing Castillo for the commodity market. However, at 34, Hervey wanted to move beyond being a commodity producer, so he sought out the renowned Gesha varietal in hopes of entering the specialty market and forming a direct connection with his customers. At the same, he worked at finding the right process to add value to his castillo.
Four years ago, Hervey convinced his brother to start growing Gesha as well. They spent months searching for seeds, eventually gaining permission to personally select the best fruits from a Gesha plot in Pitalito.
The first harvests of gesha didn’t meet expectations in terms of flavor complexity, but Hervey didn’t give up. He continued to search for solutions and began experimenting with post-harvest processing. After numerous trials (somewhere around 30 different fermentation times and methods), he finally perfected the clean, floral Gesha profile through a 50-hour anaerobic fermentation of the cherries, followed by a 60-hour anaerobic fermentation of the depulped beans. Finally the coffee is fully washed. He also constructed raised beds with shading on top of their house to dry the coffee slowly- about three weeks on average for washed coffees. The research carried on to improve complexity of the castillo, which he chose to process as a natural. The microlot of natural castillo was fermented anaerobically for 120 hours, then dried on raised beds for 40 days.
His commitment to finding the perfect profile is a reminder of the unseen hard work behind specialty coffees. We’re thrilled to now share this delicious washed gesha and natural castillo with European roasters, knowing the effort that’s gone into it. Our Minga team in Pitalito has tasted countless experiments from Hervey, which has been a valuable learning experience for us and has helped us build a strong friendship with both Hervey and Rocio.
It is important to acknowledgeRocio, his wife, in this achievement because women often work behind the scenes in the coffee businesses of smallholders. Rocio takes care of all the farm workers, cooks tirelessly every day for 5 to 15 people, and ensures everyone has what they need before heading out to work
on the farm or in the mill.
