Colombia
Martha Luz Guevara

Washed, Patio Dried process Caturra

Flavour: apricot, mango and raspberry

Body: Acidity:

Señor Octavio Camelo Torres bought Finca Hato Viejo (which translates as ‘Old Herd’) 45 years ago, and today shares ownership of the farm with his six children. One of those, Señora Martha Luz Camelo Guevara, is now the manager of the farm.

Coffee trees growing at Finca Hato Viejo

The farm is located to the north-west of the Nariño department capital Pasto, and on the edges of the Galeras volcano, so the coffee benefits from the rich volcanic soil. At 1,900m above sea level, it’s also quite a high elevation, reducing crop yield but increasing the flavour of the coffee.

Both Caturra and Castillo varieties are grown in separate lots, which is how we’re able to showcase their Caturra crop in this delivery.

Coffee preparing to be processed

Martha Luz’s husband, Alvaro Castillo, is an agronomist himself and provides much of the technical assistance to the farm. They analyse the soil periodically, and the use of chemical fertilisers are minimised: Martha Luz is proudly focused on making their production environmentally friendly.

Coffee is grown under a system of shade-trees, including avocado, citrus and plantain. Martha Luz attests that the surrounding variety of fruit trees and flowers adds to the fragrance of the produced coffee.

Some of the workers at Finca Hato Viejo

A team of six workers stay throughout the year helping on the farm, rising to as many as 40 workers during harvest. Training is provided on environmental conservation and the improvement of living conditions. Martha Luz looks to employ single mothers above all, and enjoys celebrating national holidays such as Mothers Day, Womens Day, Labour Day and Christmas with the workers.

Photo of coffee flowers by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region

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: Martha Luz Guevara
Country: Colombia
Region: Pasto, Nariño
Altitude: 1990m above sea level
Variety: Caturra
Process: Washed, Patio Dried
Harvested: July 2015
Importer: Condesa Co.Lab
Body: Medium
Acidity: Balanced
Tasting notes: Apricot, mango and raspberry
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 Nariño region of Colombia

One of the highest growing regions in Colombia, producing some truly complex coffees

Farm processes

Washed, Patio Dried 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.