BETO NARVAEZ PINK BOURBON Buenos Aires - Cabeceras, Huila

Pink Bourbon from his two plots, both called Buenos Aires—old and new!—in the township of Cabeceras in Huila.

Producer Story

Beto has been a coffee grower since he was 13 years old, planting coffees in a plot that his mother let him manage. From there, he purchased more trees, and slowly—parcel by parcel—he was able to purchase a farm from his uncle. Beto left school when he was 13, but though he'll freely share that he doesn't have much formal education, he has worked hard to learn coffee production step by step, and he has had great success.

In 2015, Beto participated in the Yara Championship of Huila, where his coffee won 2nd place. From there, he realized that he liked focusing on coffee quality. He joined the Guacharos group about 4 years ago—he knew the leader Edilma Piedrahita from his participation in a previous coffee association where they were both members.

The Farms

Beto recently sold one of his plots (Buenos Aires Viejo) to his uncle, but he kept a 1.5-hectare plot. Five years ago, he bought another 4-hectare plot and also named it Finca Buenos Aires—let's call that Nuevo! The new plot stands around 1,550 meters above sea level, and Beto has planted Pink Bourbon, Bourbon Sidra, Ombligón, F6, Cenicafe, and 1 hectare of Red Caturra. He has 400 Cachingo trees planted throughout the plot, as well as orange and lemon trees. Last summer's brutal heat emphasized to Beto the importance of shade trees to protect the soils and coffee trees and moderate the sun's heat—the Cachingo also sheds leaves that are rich in organic matter.

The remaining 1.5-hectare plot is in the township of Diamante at 1,600 meters above sea level, and he also has Ombligón trees planted there.

Looking Ahead

Beto is hoping to purchase another 2-hectare plot of land to plant coffee. It's at 1,750 meters above sea level, and he has the land identified—he just needs to figure out the financing. He's hoping to plant half a hectare of Sidra, half a hectare of Chiroso, and a hectare of Laurina—and maybe Wush Wush! Beto takes a lot of pride in having done well at coffee competitions and being globally recognized for his hard work.

Processing

To process, Beto starts with ripe cherries, carefully sorting through the picked cherries in a large attic area above his processing facility. From there, he floats the cherries in water to remove the under- and over-ripe cherries. He then carefully stores the cherries in a sealed Grain Pro bag, where they begin their fermentation process within the cherry for 18-20 hours. From there, he depulps the coffee and leaves it again in sealed bags for another 48-50 hours (keeping the coffee in bags is an intentional choice—Beto finds the large plastic barrels, or canecas, challenging to clean properly).

To wash, he chooses between two options: he has an eco pulper, and he also uses hot water (between 45-50 degrees Celsius—a thermal shock!) to wash the coffee. It then dries under shade in an upper-level canopy dryer. Beto says that the thermal shock "seals" the seed and keeps sugars inside. This is a coffee with a light wash—a "semi-lavado" coffee.