Colombia
La Esperanza
Rafael Alfonso Mateus

La Esperanza (The Hope) is a beautiful Colombian coffee from the Huila region, not just for its cupping qualities but also for its significance. Rafael’s farm’s name represents the hope you must never forget when working together as a family to achieve a mutual goal.

Washed process Bourbon, Caturra

Flavour: poached pear, white wine

Body: Acidity:

Roast: omni (filter + espresso)

In fact, Rafael learned everything about harvesting and processing from his parents and grandparents, who also worked on this land. Aside from coffee, he cultivates other crops and even has a small fish farm. More than a business, is his way of living.

This coffee is a washed process with a mix of Caturra and Bourbon varietals. Its outstanding flavour is not only the product of hard work; according to Rafael, the “varying altitudes and good soils and a favourable climate [is what] makes this farm special.”

His current focus is on improving his post-harvest processing through building better infrastructure and experimentation. However, he admits this is somewhat a never-ending goal, as his approach is constantly evolving with the times.

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: Rafael Alfonso Mateus
Country: Colombia
Region: Palestina, Huila
Altitude: 1700m above sea level
Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra
Process: washed
Harvested: November 2021
Importer: Caravela
Body: Medium
Acidity: Balanced
Tasting notes: Poached pear, white wine
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Varieties

Bourbon variety

A natural mutation of the Typica varietal, Bourbon is named after Reunion Island (then known as Il Bourbon) where the French cultivated the Typica plants which naturally mutated.

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 Huila region of Colombia

This region boasts the perfect combination of high quality soil and geography and is quickly becoming one of the largest coffee producing regions in Colombia. One of the best regarded regions for high quality, fruit driven coffee.

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.