Colombia - Potosi

The Herrara family are fourth generation farmers with a coffee story that started in the 1940’s. By the 1990’s they really started to focus on high quality organic production and for the past 10 - 15 years they have simply set the bar for quality with their self-styled ‘ultra speciality’ coffee. 

Lead by Rigoberta Herrara they’re now known for rare varieties such as Sudan Rume, Mokka, Pacamara and Laurina that all grace the hillsides of their farms, collectively known as Cafe Granja la Esperanza (CGLE). 

There are now four farms - La Esperanza, Cerro Azul, Las Margaritas and Potosi. We were lucky enough to visit the farms and dry mill in Caicedonia in 2024. During the trip we selected this exclusive lot from the wonderful Potosi, the farm where it all started.

A short jeep ride from the dry mill in Caicedonia we come to a beautiful valley with misty mountain tops. The track leads us up to Finca Potosí and Las Margaritas, the two farms sit on opposite sides of the valley.

Potosi,the original Cafe Granja farm, is situated on 52 hectares of fertile land, 34 of these are allocated to cultivating the Colombia varietal that was used for our naturally processed coffee.

CGLE continue to focus on quality and innovation. Following on from a period of time working in Panama - where he produced Geisha coffee that won the Best of Panama within just two years - Rigoberta returned to Granja. 

As well as bringing back some of the working practices he’d developed Rigoberta also returned with some Panamanian Geisha seeds …

The seeds lay the foundations for Cafe Granja’s next stage of growth, focusing on distinct flavour profiles and the super high-end speciality market. The team are now developing exotic varietals suited to the Colombian soil, working to showcase the Cauca Valley terroir.

The first of these to bear fruit is a hybrid of Geisha and Caturra that combines the amazing flavour profiles in a plant that is disease resistant and perfectly suited to the Colombian soil at Potosi.