Colombia
Omar Herrera Soto

Washed process Caturra

Flavour: rosehip, candied orange, honey

Body: Acidity:

Omar Herrera Soto has been working in coffee for 15 years.

12 years ago his wife inherited this farm called Divino Niño, and has invested time and energy on improving its quality to move into specialty coffee.

Omar and Family

He says that since working with the specialty market for the past 2-3 years he has been able to better provide for his family. It’s a “100% positive change” because his coffee is evaluated objectively and he can receive feedback on from buyers.

This traceability and feedback loop means he can make changes on the farm and in how he processes his crop to keep improving quality and receive better prices based on the quality he delivers.

Processing tanks at Divino Niño

As part of this focus on quality, Omar has been working with Caravela, our partner in Colombia, for around 2 years. In the words of their quality control team, “He is focused and committed to quality and continuous improvement in processing the coffee and it can be seen in the coffee he delivers. He has been able to produce really good coffees”.

Improving quality grades

Different countries have their own ways of describing grades and sizes of coffee beans.

Caravela grades each coffee when it’s delivered by farmers in each town. To be considered for export by them the coffee needs to score at least 83.

A coffee which scores 84+ is given an A grade, those scoring 85+ are AA, and 86+ is labelled as AAA grade, and 87+ is most commonly sold as a microlot (ML).

The price paid to the farmer increases to reflect the grade.

How Stuff Works has a a short video about the grading and export process at Caravela which was filmed at Popayán

There’s also a great interview with Caravela (previously known as Virmax) about their processes in Colombia and how they work with farmers to improve quality at the Square Mile Roasters blog.

Back to Divino Nino

Coffee drying beds at Divino Niño

In the case of Omar’s latest harvest, he delivered 26% A grade, 50% AA grade, and 24% of AAA and ML, the highest possible grade.

He also grows Peach and Granadilla (a larger relative of the passionfruit) to use at the farm and sell.

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: Omar Herrera Soto
Country: Colombia
Region: Guadalupe, Huila
Altitude: 1600m above sea level
Variety: Caturra
Process: washed
Body: Medium
Acidity: Low
Tasting notes: Rosehip, candied orange, honey
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 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.