day9.coffee day9

Caicedonia · Colombia

Café Granja La Esperanza

Since 1945 · Blanca Ligia Correa, Juan Antonio Herrera

Visit website

Overview

Café Granja La Esperanza traces back to 1945, when Blanca Ligia Correa and Juan Antonio Herrera bought their first farm — Potosí, in Caicedonia, Valle del Cauca — and is now run by their grandsons Rigoberto and Luis Eduardo Herrera across five Colombian farms (Potosí, Las Margaritas, La Esperanza, Cerro Azul, Hawaii). Rigoberto introduced Geisha to Colombia after a 2007 stint managing a farm in Panama where he won Best of Panama with the variety. In 2012, three CGLE coffees placed 2nd, 3rd, and 7th simultaneously in the SCAA Coffees of the Year competition; the family later developed the Mandela cultivar (Caturra × Híbrido de Timor × Sudan Rume) and the X.O. processing method behind Lex Wenneker's 2018 World Barista Championship runner-up performance.

Known for

  • Family roastery and producer founded 1945 — fourth generation now active
  • Five farms across Valle del Cauca and Cundinamarca: Potosí, Las Margaritas, La Esperanza, Cerro Azul, Hawaii
  • Pioneers of Geisha cultivation in Colombia (Rigoberto Herrera, post-2007 Panama experience)
  • Triple Crown at 2012 SCAA Coffees of the Year — 2nd, 3rd, 7th places
  • Inventor of Mandela cultivar (Caturra × Híbrido de Timor × Sudan Rume) and X.O. processing method

Why it matters

Café Granja La Esperanza is the family farm most responsible for putting Geisha on the Colombian map and one of the most successful examples of a Latin American grower transitioning from green-export-only to producer-roaster. The X.O. drying-and-resting process is a documented CGLE invention and has been used in World Barista Championship podium runs. For a directory, CGLE is one of the few entries that's both a championship-grade green producer (sold to roasters worldwide via specialty importers) and a coffee-bearing brand on its own.

Production

destoning
null
head roaster
null
color sorting
null
roaster machine
null
filter equipment
null
cupping frequency
null
roastery location
Valle del Cauca, Colombia
espresso equipment
null
annual volume tonnes
null

Recognitions

  • SCAA Coffees of the Year — 2nd, 3rd, and 7th places (2012)
  • Best of Panama Geisha winner (Rigoberto Herrera, 2007 stint at Cerro Azul)
  • Best of Panama 2018 Champion; 1st-runner up 2019
  • X.O. processing method used by Lex Wenneker for WBC 2018 1st-runner-up

Sources

More roasters