Inzá is a municipality located in a sacred valley that sits below the elevated mountains that separate Huila and Cauca. More than 14 centuries of history and tradition of native indigenous tribes make Inzá ones of Colombia’s richest archaeological treasures, home to the archeological park of Tierradentro. These indigenous cultures chose Inza as their home because it is a place where many rivers converge, making this territory a fertile and magical place. Although Inzá is located remotely, it is definitey a place worth visiting. This region has ethnic diversity, an amazing artisanal culture, stunning views, and of course, one of Colombia’s best coffees. Coffee growers in this area used to sell their coffee to intermediaries, who blended it and sold it as “Coffee from Huila”. In 2003, Caravela started buying coffee directly from a group of small but passionate coffee producers from the region and selling it as a single-origin to roasters around the world, with full transparency and traceability. For us, coffees from Inza are special because of the long- standing relationships that we have forged and the impact that these have generated on the lives of hundreds of families and on communities once forgotten.

Drying beds

Asorcafe set up their own warehouses and purchased member’s harvests, then selling directly in Popayan, the region’s capital, to earn better prices. When our sourcing partners in Colombia, Caravela, began working with them to improve quality, prices rose further still.

Asorcafe has grown since, with this crop features coffee from around 400 small-scale farmers.

A violent history of FARC guerrillas had prevented Colombia’s national coffee board and specialty-focused exporters from working in the region. As violence lessened, growers in the region had better access to buyers, and also the tourism draw of nearby destinations such as the World Heritage listed Parque Nacional Arqueológico de Tierradentro.