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Finca La Orquidea was founded in 1995 by Fernando Rojas and Emilse Taborda. When the two of them got married, Emilse’s father, Gustavo, gifted them a small portion of land so that they could build a house. After that, they started to slowly purchase more pieces of land around the house in which they planted coffee.
Today, Finca La Orquidea has an extension of 4 hectares. The farm is located at an elevation of between 1600 and 1700 meters at a village called Loma del Guamo in Titiribí Antioquia, and the varietals produced are Castillo and Colombia varietals.
Emilse and Fernando also have a son, his name is Clingxman. He worked full time at the farm for many years as well, but he also went to school and study to be a risk analyst and now he has a job at a company in Medellín city. He goes to the farm every weekend however and helps his parents as much as he can with the farm work.
Process:
During the harvest time, workers walk the fields every day picking only the ripe cherries, all cherries do not ripen at the same time so it is necessary to pass by the same tree several times during a harvest period. At the end of the day John and his workers float and sort the cherries to remove all of the unripe or bad ones, then they pack the cherries inside grainpro bag and seal them completely to prevent access of oxygen and let them ferment in the shade for two full days before putting them in the evening on the raised beds where they continue to ferment without sun for 12 hours. After this the cherries will start drying and Sonia makes sure to turn them often every day to ensure an even drying.
In addition to the coffee, the Rojas Taborda family also plants plantain, banana, mango and lemon trees in order to provide shade for the coffee plantation and get an additional source of income for the family. Emilse, the wife also raises chickens and sells their eggs to the people of the village to generate an additional income.
No pesticides or insecticides are used at Finca la Orquidea on the harvesting or processing of the coffee cherries. Organic compost made at the farm is commonly used on the farming process and clean water is used for washing the beans.