BACKGROUND

Raquel is one of many Lassos, a multi-generational family of traditional coffee producers in Nariño. Through the NGO she co-founded, FUDAM, Raquel has dedicated her life to championing sustainable development in her community—the majority being small, traditional coffee growers like her extended family. Raquel's work has focused on empowering women within households toward financial autonomy through funded agricultural projects (both within and outside of coffee). She has seen that when women control at least part of their family finances, domestic violence decreases, children go to school more regularly, and families eat better and more often. When we first met Raquel in 2016, she had recently planted trees on heavily depleted soils that she and her husband Carlos had recuperated with literally truckloads of organic matter. However, Raquel didn't speak to us about her coffee at all. She spoke to us about her community—how they live, how they grow, the problems producers face, and the ways in which Raquel is working to see her neighbors live healthier, safer, and fuller lives.

FARMING

Raquel's farm Finca La Bohemia lies in the township of Buenos Aires, within the municipality of Cartago in the department of Nariño. The townships within the Cartago municipality are geographically isolated from one another and from many services. Generally, soils are full of lava deposits from eruptions of the many surrounding volcanoes. Topsoil is relatively deep, well-drained, and loamy. But with such high rainfall and steep slopes (75% is common), erosion is a problem for annual crops. Coffee is one of the very few environmentally sound cash crops to grow in the region. Cartago is blessed with incredibly high average altitudes—this relative isolation means that the Federation's more chemical-heavy agricultural influence is also geographically limited! On Raquel's farm, there is a wealth of native shade and fruit trees, and plenty of beneficial ground cover. Raquel and her husband Carlos worked the soil with literally tons of organic compost before planting coffee trees, and they continue to apply a very high amount of organic compost that they make on-farm. They manage roya by using a preparation made on-farm from mineral (organic) calcium and sulfur.

PROCESSING

This is a Pink Bourbon lot, but Raquel calls it a "bourbon sútil" because it has very delicate, subtle aromatics and flavor notes. Raquel uses a depulper provided by FUDAM—a specific model of depulper, with adjustable channels that allow for different-sized beans to be cleanly processed. After depulping, the coffee is fermented in a low-oxygen environment, in sealed plastic barrels. These barrels—canecas—are affordable, clean, and easily moved—a good option for low-oxygen fermentation on a smaller scale. These anaerobic conditions can allow for a longer, slower breakdown of sugars without the risk of introducing aerobic (or acetic) bacteria associated with spoilage. Instead, these conditions promote populations of lactic acid bacteria, a species most commonly associated with producing favorable amino acids or flavor precursors. We've found that anaerobic fermentation contributes to a fuller, sweeter, very clean cup. Fermentation times can depend on weather conditions, and Raquel ferments for 2-3 days before fully washing the parchment and slowly drying it on shade-covered raised beds. With the high elevations and cooler climates, drying is slow and gentle—often 15 days or more.