Colombia
Alirio Rivera

Paulo Alirio Rivera has been surrounded with coffee all his life, learning everything from his father. He made the switch to specialty coffee 4 years ago, and began started making changes in cherry picking, processing, and drying, trying more experimental ways of processing coffee. He is constantly looking to improve his craft and produce more delicious coffee every year.

Washed process Typica

Flavour: vanilla, pear, blood orange

Body: Acidity:

Roast: omni (filter + espresso)

In the south of Colombia, in the department of Nariño, we arrive to the municipality of Buesaco. It is a place where specialty coffee has found a sweet spot, with many coffee farmers in the last decade switching to quality and producing amazing coffees. It is here, surrounded by mountains, that we meet Paulo Alirio Rivera, who takes us to his farm Ortega.

He has been surrounded with coffee all his life, as his father is a coffee producer and he started learning through him. Later on in life, he graduated from Agroindustry and started working in a coffee company. With all the learning he had amassed from the coffee world, he decided to start with his own coffee production.

So, 10 years ago Paulo Alirio started his own coffee production, making the switch to specialty coffee 4 years ago. This change, made him look differently the production of coffee as he started making changes in cherry picking, processing, and drying. It also has allowed him to experiment and move out of the traditional ways of processing coffee. As per the management of the farm he has someone in charge of the daily chores while he dedicates completely to processing and commercialization the coffee.

Paulo Alirio is also a taster, so for him overseeing processing is a way of keeping control of quality and checking out how the experiments are coming out.

His biggest challenges as of right know are incrementing the production of the farm as only 4 hectares are dedicated to coffee with the total area being 6 hectares. And he wants to optimize resources and the administrative organization of the farm. Paulo Alirio wants to keep improving and invites you to get to know his farm and cup some coffee with him.

Learn everything about this coffee:

Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

Dose: 20g ground coffee
Yield: 60g espresso
Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
Labels: recyclable
Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

Learn more:
Our packaging

Producer: Alirio Rivera
Country: Colombia
Region: Nariño
Altitude: 1850m above sea level
Variety: Typica
Process: washed
Body: Medium
Acidity: Balanced
Tasting notes: Vanilla, pear, blood orange
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Variety

Typica variety

Considered to be one of the ‘genus’ varietals from which all other varietals have mutated from

The location

Coffee from Colombia

Colombia is one of the largest coffee producers in the world and benefits greatly from having one of the most unique and complex set of micro-climates of all coffee producing nations.

The Nariño region of Colombia

One of the highest growing regions in Colombia, producing some truly complex coffees

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.