Colombia Martha Luz Guevara: Sample Coffee Roasters

Colombia
Martha Luz Guevara

We find flavours of 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

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Caturra coffee beans, provided by Condesa Co.Lab 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: Martha Luz Guevara
Country: Colombia
Region: Pasto, Nariño
Altitude: 1990m above sea level
Varietals: Caturra
Process: Washed, Patio Dried
Harvested: July 2015
Body: Medium
Acidity: Balanced
Tasting notes: Apricot, mango and raspberry
Roast style: Omni

Varietals

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.

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.