Colombia
Arley Yate Hernandez

Washed process Caturra

Flavour: pomegranate, orange blossom, blood orange

Body: Acidity:

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.

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: Arley Yate Hernandez
Country: Colombia
Region: Rio Blanco, Tolima
Altitude: 1800m above sea level
Variety: Caturra
Process: washed
Importer: Caravela
Body: Medium
Acidity: Medium
Tasting notes: Pomegranate, orange blossom, blood orange
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Variety

Caturra variety

Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon that was originally discovered in Brazil in 1937, considered to be the first naturally occurring mutation ever discovered.

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 Tolima region of Colombia

The word ‘Tolima’ comes from the local indigenous language and means a “river of snow or cloud”.

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.