Coffee Description By Gaby
Passion, courage and hard work. This is what Domingo taught us during our visit to El Roble.
After a 3 hour drive of 74 km on a dirt road, we arrived at Domingo’s finca on the border between Colombia and Venezuela. As we walked through the coffee trees, we could see the Tachira River that forms the border between the two countries. The same river I crossed many times as a child, being born in this region.
Domingo began growing coffee in 2011 in Ragonvalia, a town known for the production of lulo, tree tomatoes and blackberries, but not for coffee. At first, he followed the advice of the National Coffee Federation, fermenting for a few hours and growing the varieties they promoted. Soon, however, he followed his curiosity and decided to plant seeds of the Geisha variety and try longer fermentations, despite the discouragement of the NCF.
Thanks to his passion, courage, and hard work, he has won several awards for the quality of his coffee.
Finca El Roble is located in Ragonvalia and thanks to its altitude it has a great thermal excursion and sun exposure, which gives the coffee a smooth and creamy body, unusual for a Geisha variety that usually has a tea-like body.
Process
Ripe cherries are hand picked, depulped and fermented for 36 hours. It is then dried in raised beds, known in Colombia as marquesinas, where it is continuously moved for 10-12 days, depending on the weather.
