La Pradera - Colombia - Natural Castillo - Filter & Espresso
Flavor: Rum, raisins, tiramisu & rhubarb
Cupping score: 88.5
Origin: Colombia
Region: Santander
Producer: Oscar Daza
Varietal: Castillo
Process: Natural
Altitude: 1600-2000 MASL
Roasted for: Filter & Espresso - Light roast
LA PRADERA
Finca La Pradera is owned by Oscar Daza and is located in Santander region, near Aratoca village. Oscar explained his great faith in shade production, and we counted no fewer than 15 different tree species. Finca La Pradera is organic and bird-friendly certified.
The Bird Friendly standards are the strictest of all environmental standards. Farms must not only be certified organic but also meet additional criteria to ensure the forest cover serving as a habitat for birds and other wildlife is preserved. Bird Friendly coffees, therefore, offer all the environmental benefits of an organic coffee. These additional standards call for at least 40% shade coverage and serve to regulate the diversity and size of the trees making up the forest canopy. They ensure a variety of habitats exist, supporting an abundance of wildlife. Surveys conducted by biologists have revealed that a shade coffee plantation harbours almost as much biodiversity as a rainforest
PILOS DEL CAFE
Is a school next to the Hacienda Cafetera La Pradera and it is there that many of the workers and managers of the farms studied as youth. A good percentage of the children of agricultural workers study there. This project is led by a group of women from the Santa Maria farm, they educate children about agricultural practices, collection and manual selection.
The basic idea is to strengthen and support the education of children by initiating a program of employment through coffee called: LABORATORIO ESCUELA CON CAFÉ
Oscar Daza from Hacienda Pradera, very involved in social projects around coffee to ensure a future for new generations, joined this initiative by making his quality lab available to young students.
This laboratory seeks to integrate into their school training, the production, processing and marketing of specialty coffee with principles of economic, social and environmental sustainability so that children develop skills and knowledge in coffee growing. They see coffee as a source of income for themselves and their families. They are taught to work the land and produce high-quality coffee through which they can improve their standard of living and generate employment opportunities for other people in rural areas, thus avoiding the migration of people from the countryside to cities and a reduction in labour in the fields. Keeping young people in rural areas will also help tackle the rising average age of coffee farm owners and workers in the region.
This is an ambitious project but beyond that, the idea is that some beneficiaries can make it a life option that gives more dignity to their work by becoming producers, cuppers, agronomists or researchers in the coffee sector
We roast our coffee Mondays and Wednesdays! All weekly orders are dispatched twice a week Tuesdays & Thursdays. On all of our coffee bags, we provide you with a roast date. To get the best out of our coffee, we aim to rest it for 7-14 days after roasting (depending on the type of coffee); this allows for the flavors to open up, offering much more clarity to your cup.