A second-generation coffee grower, Carmen Cecilia has worked diligently with her family, elevating her 3-hectare farm to a rank few ever achieve: 1st place in a Cup of Excellence competition. Her award-winning coffee in 2014 was the culmination of years of planning and execution. She selected seed from her strongest Caturra trees, germinated and reared them in an on-farm nursery, then replanted her fields with the saplings. As the trees matured, Carmen Cecilia and her family honed their picking and processing technique to what it is today: Red cherry are hand-harvested, then depulped on-site in the farm's micromill. The wet green ferments for 48 hours with two flushes of fresh water, then is sent through sorting channels and dried in a parabolic drier. It receives a screen sorting before being bagged and left to rest under shelter, then is dry milled for final sorting and bagging.
Carmen Cecilia's farm represents two trends we're excited to see in coffee: First, growers intently learning and planning their operations to produce high-quality coffee on a consistent basis. This year's offering cups quite similarly to that which won 2014's Cup of Excellence. Second, an increasing number of women are taking over as owners of farms and coops and producing exceptional results. Carmen Cecilia is exemplary in this role.
Flavor Notes - Chocolate Cake, Blackberry Jam, Pinot Noir
Producer - Carmen Cecilia Montoya
Region - San Carlos, Urrao, Antioquia
Variety - Castillo, Caturra, Colombia
Process - Washed
Altitude - 2004 masl