We’re in Colombia for this week’s delivery, with a delicious coffee from Tolima. It’s from Arley Yate Hernández’s farm La Esperanza (‘Hope’) near the town of Rio Blanco.
Arley Yate Hernandez and family at El Esperanza Photo: Caravela
He’s shared some of his story in his own words:
I’m from Tolima, through out the years my parents taught me about coffee farming as it was my family’s main source of income and way of living.
We worked together to sustain our family. I bought my farm, La Esperanza ten years ago. Throughout the time one needs to adapt to the changes and progress, that’s what specialty coffee means to me, to my family.
We needed a better income so we start looking on how to get it with the things we had. Fortunately, we found [Sample’s Colombia coffee partner] Caravela and their prices based on quality of the coffee, right now there’s no other company with higher buying prices and I’m happy my coffees reach the quality grades.
My farm and way of farming is the legacy I’ll leave to my children, just as my parents taught me.

Coffee trees growing on the hills at El Esperanza Photo: Caravela
Arley grows around 7,000 coffee trees on El Esperanza, which is around 1,500 hectares in size. They’re all the Caturra varietal, which is one of the most commonly grown varieties in Colombia.
 
Sourcing and ingredients
100%
Caturra
coffee beans, provided by Caravela and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.
Country grade: Unknown
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Packaging
Bag: ABA Certified home compostable
Label: Recyclable
Valve (on bags larger than 250g): General waste
Coffee ordered online is shipped in a recyclable cardboard box
Brewing this coffee
We recommend brewing this coffee 15–49 days post-roast. If pre-ground, brew as soon as possible. Our advice on storing coffee.