Colombia
Finca La Providencia

Producer Julio Cesar Soscue’s knowledge and passion for coffee has been passed to him via generations of family members. His coffee reminds us of wine gum, orange rind, and honey.

Washed process Castillo, Catuai, Caturra, V.Colombia

Flavour: wine gum, orange rind, honey

Body: Acidity:

Roast: omni (filter + espresso)

In Ibague, the capital of the department of Tolima, we take the road towards the mountain where, depending on the climate, you can watch the snowcapped mountain of Tolima. The road leads us to the area of a municipality called China Alta, and here, is where we meet Julio Cesar Soscue, his wife Rocio Sanchez and his daughter Camila and son Daniel.

Their farm, La Providencia, is 5 hectares in size with 4 hectares in coffee. It is also full of other minor crops such as yuca, plantain, corn, bananas, oranges and a small garden with carrot, onion, and coriander. The passion and knowledge of Julio for coffee has been passed to him through generations of family members. He started around 2005 producing coffee but at first in the traditional way and selling it in the local commerce.

It was around 2012 when he started producing high quality coffee and since the beginning with the accompaniment of Pergamino’s Allied Producer Program. This has been paramount for him to learn more about process and farm management. Specialty coffee has brought him better earnings with which he has been able to provide to his family and seeing his kids grow. Nowadays, Julio is focused on renewing some of the parcels where the coffees are getting old and improving the infrastructure of his drying area.

The process of this coffee starts with a selective picking of the ripe coffee cherries which are left to ferment in for 24 hours before being pulped. Afterwards, the beans are fermented in dry from 30 to 35 hours, although this can vary depending on the variety and what he wants to accomplish. Then, the beans are washed and taken to the parabolic covered patios where a thin layer is formed and dried for 15 to 25 days depending on the climatic conditions.

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Castillo, Catuai, Caturra, and V.Colombia coffee beans, provided by Caravela and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.

Country grade: Unknown ?

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.

1:3
dose:yield
ratio

To brew on espresso, we recommend using 20g of beans (dose) to get 60g of espresso out (yield), during 24-28 seconds.

g dose

g yield

View the how to brew espresso (single origin) guide.

1:16.7
beans:water
ratio

To brew in infusion/fed brewers (V60, Chemex) use a ratio of 1:16.7 ratio of beans:water.

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:14.3
beans:water
ratio

To brew in immersion brewers (plunger, AeroPress, Kalita, batch brewer) we recommend using a 1:14.3 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:12
beans:water
ratio

To brew as cold brew we recommend using a 1:12 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

Producer: Julio Cesar Soscue
Farm/Coop: La Providencia
Country: Colombia
Region: Tolima
Altitude: 1710m above sea level
Varietals: Castillo, Catuai, Caturra, and V.Colombia
Process: washed
Harvested: July 2023
Body
Acidity
Tasting notes: Wine gum, orange rind, honey
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Varietals

Castillo varietal

Castillo is named after the researcher Jamie Castillo, who helped develop the varietal in 2005 by Cenicafe, Colombia’s coffee research centre

Catuai varietal

Created by the Instituto Agronomico do Campinas in Brasil, Catuai is a hybrid varietal between Caturra and Mundo Novo.

Caturra varietal

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.

V.Colombia varietal

Also known as “Variedad Colombia”, this varietal was developed by Colombian researchers at Cenicafe by crossing Caturra and Timor Hybrid

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.