Natalia Pineda learned to grow coffee from her father. It took five years before she was able to buy the plot of land which is now this farm. Initially, she sold her coffee at the local market price. She had no idea about the quality of post-harvest coffee, nor what happened to her coffee after she sold it. There was no transparency or traceability. In 2014, Natalia was part of a gender and development project, through which she received training in self-esteem, leadership, and personal development, as well as training in crop agronomic management, harvest, post-harvest quality control, and more. This encouraged her to understand the business side of coffee as well and the entire experience proved a major boost to her confidence and motivation. She is a firm believer in the power of knowledge and education, having completed her own primary schooling in adulthood. She was always keen that her five children complete at least one degree in secondary education, and now, four of them have university degrees.
Harvested cherries are put into buckets of water to select which ones are ready for further processing. If they float on the surface of the water, they are removed. Those that rest at the bottom are considered ready. Drying can take 10-14 days in sunny weather, but if it’s not warm, it can take even a month. Cherries are fermented for 26 hours, and the drying process lasts 23 days on patios and one more week on African beds. The resulting coffee is fruity and jammy, with notes of raspberry and cherry as well as bonbon and wine grape.
