Colombia, Nariño; El Obraje, Pablo Andres Guerrero – Ally Coffee
Region: Nariño
Producer: Pablo Andres Guerrero
Farm: El Obraje
Variety: Caturra
Process: Natural
Harvest: July
Elevation: 2200 masl
Tasting Notes: Toffee, Berry, Lemon
Hacienda El Obraje has been in Pablo Guerrero’s family for many years, originally producing wheat and grains until the government began importing them in the 1990’s. When this happened, Pablo and his team worked to find a different crop to produce, starting first with fruit trees. They tried this for 10 years but the challenges of bringing the fresh fruit to market made cultivation of apples and peaches unsuccessful. Pablo Guerrero then turned to coffee.
Pablo Guerrero was the first to bring coffee to the Tangua area, as its altitudes averaging around 2,200 meters above sea level were thought to be too high for coffee growth. The coffee he produces has a very unique flavor due to the farm’s high altitude and mineral rich soil of nearby volcanic mountains. Another uncommon aspect of El Obraje is the drastic range in daily temperatures, it can be as high as 90°F and as low as 46°F in one day. This considerable change in temperature impacts the density of the beans and causes the trees to grow smaller and more compact than coffee trees of the same (caturra) varietal in other regions of Colombia. Since his coffees have thrived, others in this region have begun to grow coffee as well.
When Pablo Guerrero first began cultivating coffee in 2000, he only produced conventional coffee and did not have a processing mill. By 2009, he built his own mill and transitioned to producing only specialty coffee. His background in architecture has helped him in the planning, building and organization of El Obraje. He uses two distinct methods to process his coffee, natural and washed. The natural process is used mostly in places with limited access to water; El Obraje does not receive adequate rainfall to only use the washed method of processing coffee. He developed an irrigation system from the farm’s retention pond to use on specific lots to combat this problem in the growing stage.
This coffee is currently available in-stores and for purchase online