Colombia Cauca Popayan Honey Castillo

Regional Details:

Coffee cultivation from small family owned farms is the backbone of production in Colombia.  Banexport, a Colombian export company, works directly with these producers who have a shared commitment for exquisite farm management practices, and loving care for their farms and the environment. Banexport helps producers gain access to technical support regarding best practices for farm management and cupping feedback, which helps producers improve the quality of their coffee.  The model of collaborative effort produces traceable community blends with vibrant regional profiles.

Processing Details:

This community blend is traceable to 4 producers with small farms in the municipality of Popayán within the department of Cauca.  Each producer carefully harvests cherries and delivers them to a centrally located mill where Banexport takes on the task of post harvest processing.  The centralized processing allows for a greater investment in infrastructure and consistent processing.  Banexport uses technology to sort cherries based on pH, Brix, and acidity testing before depulping the cherries.  Next the coffee is fermented in sealed bioreactors where the microbial environment can be controlled.  Once fermentation has been completed, the coffee drying process is started, skipping the washing stage to conserve water.   Drying is done in a controlled environment where temperature is kept in a range of 30 to 35 degrees and compressed air with a low relative humidity is circulated through the solar dryers to achieve slow and uniform drying.  When coffee reaches 10.5 percent, it is stored in grainpro bags until the time for export preparation.

Exporting Details:

Banexport also provides crucial logistical support for things like warehousing and milling coffee for export to the international market, which provides better income for everyone to reinvest in their farms and strengthen their families’ livelihoods.