Colombia Fair Trade ORGANIC Narino

In the cup: Cooked berry and cocoa flavors with winey acidity and mild sugary sweetness.

Process: Washed

Variety: Castillo, Caturra, Colombia

Elevation: 1500-2200 MASL

Country: Colombia

Harvest: May - September

This Colombian gem from FUDAM represents the heart of Nariño's coffee renaissance. The washed process creates a clean, bright cup that lets the terroir sing through every sip. At elevations reaching over 7,000 feet above sea level, these beans develop slowly in the cool mountain air, concentrating their flavors like a fine wine aging in perfect conditions.

FUDAM is a 300-member association of organic-certified and Rainforest Alliance–certified growers that was founded in 2000 by just seven producers who shared a vision of sustainable agriculture as well as environmental protection and development. The association operates around La Unión in Nariño, where the geography is actually inverted from most coffee regions - the towns are at such high elevation that the farms are typically lower elevation, surrounded by high peaks.

The washed process here follows a careful routine: farmers pick their coffee during the day and depulp it in the afternoon, typically fermenting the lots for 16–24 hours dry. The coffees are generally washed two or three times before being dried either in small "casa elbas," mechanical dryers, or parabolic dryers. Depending on the method, drying takes anywhere from 25 hours to 15 days.

FUDAM's Fair Trade Organic certification reflects genuine commitment - Fair Trade and organic-certified coffees from Colombia are relatively rare compared to the more common asociaciones, but producers who obtain certification are deeply committed to both ecological sustainability and the well-being of their communities. The group also supports women producers through their Manos de Mujeres initiative.

The result in your cup is that interplay of cooked berry sweetness with cocoa depth, lifted by the bright acidity that Nariño's altitude delivers so well.