Colombia Cafe Giraldo
Bold Profile | Medium-dark roast
Tasting Notes: Allspice, Brown Sugar, Malt
IT ALL STARTS AT THE COFFEE FARM
Grown high in the mountains in northwestern Colombia around the town of Giraldo, this coffee represents the work of several smallscale producers, including Rubiel Higuita, Joaquin Emilio Higuita, Aristobulo Manco and Luis Alberto Manco, pictured left to right with Stephen from Coffee Quest importers. Their individual contributions were carefully constructed by the team at Coffee Quest, with every small lot individually tasted several times before being included in the main lot.
The farmers in the area of Giraldo have had limited opportunity to improve their living conditions, as the market-related prices offered by the local cooperative and “coyote” buyers remains low. The last two decades of growing coffee have not been profitable for the smallholder farmers. At their Giraldo buying station, our importer partner The Coffee Quest always pays better than the local market prices, with transparent (and fixed!) prices for 84+ scoring lots.
In the last years Giraldo has becoming known as hidden gem in the Colombian coffee scene. The secret of Giraldo is the abundance of traditional varieties like Caturra and Typica and remarkably dense beans from high elevation (1700-2150 meters). Tropical updrafts from the deep Cauca River valley generate a micro-climate benefitting the high-altitude coffee crops.
A note about payment
As you can see below, we always list the price we paid for the coffee, and then show you what price was paid to the farmers themselves, after all of the costs associated with importing are removed. For this coffee, though it was very close (we paid 12,936 Colombian pesos per kg and the living income price is 14,437), we noted that the price we paid did not reach the Fair Trade Living Income Reference Price standard for a living wage in Colombia, so we contacted our friends at The Coffee Quest to ask if we could do a second payment to all of the producers to make up that difference.
Yessica and Sirley
Producers with Stephen from The Coffee Quest
Producer raking coffee seeds as they dry
Coffee being loaded off a chiva bus into the Coffee Quest lab in Medallin
View of Giraldo
TRACEABILITY
PRODUCER
Several smallholder producers
MILL / WASHING STATION
On farms
PROCESSING
Washed
ALTITUDE
1700 - 2200 meters
DID YOU KNOW
Our importer partners at The Coffee Quest Colombia have been supporting the community of Giraldo for several years, thanks to their local presence in the regional Giraldo station and the current outreach programs (women empowerment, children’s education, water treatment).
PRICE TRANSPARENCY
$3.68
Price paid by Driftaway
$2.71
Free on Board price
$12,936/kg in Colombian Pesos
Farm Gate price
$2.03
Fair Trade price per pound
$1.83
Coffee C-Market price per pound
$0.05
Driftaway's World Coffee Research contribution per pound
This coffee travelled 2,353 miles to the Driftaway Coffee roastery in Queens.
Love the coffee? You can share your compliments & tasting observations with the farmers.
WHY DID WE SELECT THIS COFFEE?
These are the same group of farmers that contribute to the La Sierrita coffee which we've purchased for several years. We have placed the La Sierrita lot in the lighter roasted Balanced profile, but for this coffee we were looking for a milder option that would be a great fit for a dark roast. We love how this coffee can really hold up to the heat of a darker roast, developing an aroma of baking spices, a creamy body and deep sweetness.
AVERAGE CUPPING SCORE
84.5
/100
84.5
SCAA Cupping Score
15 x 60 k
Bags purchased
4 years
Length of producer relationship
100% (in 2023)
Transparent coffees purchased
HOW DID WE ROAST THIS COFFEE?
This coffee is being roasted by Ian T. from July 15th to August 9th in Brooklyn. We use the Loring Kestrel roaster for this profile. We have strict guidelines for each of the coffee profiles, and this roast has to pass the development time ratio test as measured in real-time by the roasting software, Cropster. Once it does, it is approved for production.
QUALITY CONTROL
We perform Quality Control via a process of coffee tasting called cupping on all of our production roasts once a week at our roastery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Each cupping is conducted by Ian T., Anu M., Suyog M., and James M. using standard equipment, and is logged by our Q-certified cupper Ian T. All coffees are evaluated on a scoring scale of 0 to 3.
- 3.0 = exceptional roast - exceeds expectations
- 2.5 = on par with profile - matches expectations
- 2.0 = good roast, but 1 or 2 elements could be improved - needs improvement
- 1.5 or lower = failed - do not ship
PRODUCTION AND SHIPPING
Less than 24 hours after roasting, we bag your coffee in our production facility in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Our production team is led by Anthony and Torie, and supported by a rotating cast of local artists, musicians and independent professionals.
AT YOUR HOME
Brew this coffee with your favorite home brewer and enjoy the taste of incredible coffee! Here are a few tips on how to make the best coffee on each brewer.
View other posts about how to make better coffee at home on our blog Coffeecademy.
