The Producer

Having grown up in a coffee producing family in Colombia’s Tolima region, Einar Ortiz Falla learnt about the various aspects of running a coffee farm from his parents and grandparents. This upbringing helped to instil a sense of passion and cultivate a strong work ethic, both pre-requisites for a successful coffee producer.

Having acquired his own farm just after the turn of the millennium, Einar and his partner Amali Díaz, are now tending to Caturra, Bourbon and Geisha which are planted across 5 hectares of their 7-hectare farm. After attending various seminars and workshops soon after establishing the farm the couple have pivoted to be heavily specialty-minded, focussing on maximising the quality of their outturns. The farm has submitted lots and placed highly in both the 2021 and 2022 Cup of Excellence competition, a testament to their dedication to quality.

Their Approach 

Finca La Siberia harvest multiple times throughout the year. They will perform selective picking, requiring multiple passes around the trees. Once picked the cherries are held inside GrainPro sacks for 12 hours for a ‘reposado’ phase before depulping. The mucilage covered parchment is then fermented for 36 hours before being fully washed and dried under parabolic shade coverings. Water used for washing lots of coffee goes through a treatment process to avoid contaminating local water sources..

The Exporter

Typically, Caravela operate an 80/20 model, working with a vast majority of smallholders and a minority of farmers with large coffee estates. More than half of the producers they work with were visited by their PECA team, and in Colombia alone they are working with 1,746 producers across 52 communities. As regards their PECA program, they have said the following:

“Coffee growers are the heart of our business model, without them we could not maintain and sustain this value chain. They are responsible for producing the best coffees that delight us every day. The Coffee Growers Education Program (PECA) has developed a symbiotic relationship between coffee growers and Caravela since we’re always learning from each other. For many years, we have accumulated experiences throughout experimentation and work that provides tools to empower and educates coffee growers, resulting in consistent high-quality coffees”.