Taste notes: Tropical Fruits, Pineapple and Stewed Prune
 
Best suited for Filter and Espresso based drinks.
 
Origin: Colombia
Producer: Bernardo Echeverry
Region: Santuario, Risaralda
Variety: Caturra
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1400 - 1600 MASL
 
Situated on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Occidental, Santuario
is a municipality in Risaralda. With a strong history in
coffee cultivation, Santuario holds an important recognition, the
Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, and has been declared Unesco’s
World Heritage for being an exceptional example of a cultural,
sustainable and productive landscape – a historical milestone for the
country.
Cultural Landscape rewards the tremendous human adaptation to
difficult geographical conditions and the efforts of coffee farmers
over generations to obtain a decent source of income for their families.
Since the end of the 18th century, through their adaptation
and efforts, coffee grower families have shaped the landscape in
which natural, economic and cultural elements are combined and
which is unique in the world. Through their work, coffee eventually
became the main development driver of the area.
Bernardo Echeverry is part of the 3rd generation of a coffee producing
family. His grandparents initially bought a small farm in
Santuario, Risaralda in the 1950s and started a long-term family
project. Like many others, the family went through years of solvency
and years of crisis. But they understood from the very beginning
that any successful farm had to focus on productivity, strict quality
standards and especially a rigorous cost-efficient structure.
 
In 1980, a young Bernardo decided to dabble with a new farm located
in Santuario, also known as “The Tatamá Pearl” due to the rich
biodiversity that is found within the Tatamá National Park, a vital
natural gem that encompasses part of the city.
Initially, Bernardo’s farm was planted exclusively with Bourbon and
Typica plants and the wet milling process was done in a traditional
way. As the coffee industry began to evolve, Mr. Echeverry saw
the need to improve his farming techniques by producing more
high-quality coffee with an optimal cost of production. Finca La
Estrella is currently processing all of the coffee cherries in a hightech
ecological mill that consumes significantly less water than the
traditional system.
Bernardo and his family have witnessed how most youngsters leave
the coffee fields in pursuit of an urban lifestyle, they believe is it imperative
to share the knowledge with all producers in order to spread
an economically-viable production methodology that will preserve
their traditions and of course, maintain their unique cup profile.