About the coffee
- Cupping notes: Citric acidity, creamy body, exceptionally sweet, with notes of milk chocolate, orange, and plum
- Cultivation: Shade-grown in the foothills of the Andes mountains in the Santa Maria region in the department of Huila
- Varieties: Caturra and Castillo
- Elevation: 4,250-6,000 feet
- Processing: Washed, mechanically-dried
About the people who grow it
Top and bottom photos: Royal Coffee NY (used by permission)
This new-to-me source of Colombian coffee is a family-owned Colombia-based operation run by two brothers, Yonatan and Julián González, who established Cuatro Vientos (“Four Winds”) in 2018, in order to help small-holder Colombian farmers access the specialty coffee market in the United States. Seeking to build on their family’s long-standing relationships to coffee farmers, their business name is a tribute to their late parents and bears the moniker of the farm where their father grew up: Finca Cuatro Vientos (Four Winds Farm).
They operate two collection centers in the north and south of the Huila region with alternating harvest periods, providing access to exceptional coffees all year round. They also run a roastery and coffee shop in their hometown of Neiva, in order to better understand the whole range of the coffee business.
They write, “Colombia…is a world-favorite for its reputation of producing mild and well-balanced beans. Coffee, to all Colombians, is a source of pride and identity beyond the tabloids and bad news about this country and its people. When a product is this important to a people, rest assured there will be time, dedication, and love spent on it.”
Producers in Huila are almost 100% smallholder families. Most live on small farms or plots with coffee crops that do not exceed 2 hectares. This results in a diversity of varieties and processes, high social and environmental impact, and quality over quantity.
The Huila region is nestled in the slopes of the eastern range of the Andes mountains. The valley itself lies at nearly 4,500 feet above sea level. The soil is volcanic, providing lots of organic nutrients for this high altitude coffee. The “Santa Maria” label is Cuatro Vientos’ best-selling regional blend that brings together five growers from the Santa Maria region, providing an excellent, consistently traditional Colombian cup throughout the year, with a smooth, silky body, and delicate aftertaste.
They operate two collection centers in the north and south of the Huila region with alternating harvest periods, providing access to exceptional coffees all year round. They also run a roastery and coffee shop in their hometown of Neiva, in order to better understand the whole range of the coffee business.
They write, “Colombia…is a world-favorite for its reputation of producing mild and well-balanced beans. Coffee, to all Colombians, is a source of pride and identity beyond the tabloids and bad news about this country and its people. When a product is this important to a people, rest assured there will be time, dedication, and love spent on it.”
Producers in Huila are almost 100% smallholder families. Most live on small farms or plots with coffee crops that do not exceed 2 hectares. This results in a diversity of varieties and processes, high social and environmental impact, and quality over quantity.
The Huila region is nestled in the slopes of the eastern range of the Andes mountains. The valley itself lies at nearly 4,500 feet above sea level. The soil is volcanic, providing lots of organic nutrients for this high altitude coffee. The “Santa Maria” label is Cuatro Vientos’ best-selling regional blend that brings together five growers from the Santa Maria region, providing an excellent, consistently traditional Colombian cup throughout the year, with a smooth, silky body, and delicate aftertaste.