OUR 2020 COLLECTION IS HERE

We are very proud to announce the launch of our 2020 collection; single estate, high-end specialty Colombian coffees from two of the top producers: Elkin Guzman with Finca El Mirador in Pitalito, Huila and Nicolas Ocampo Maya with Finca La Julia in Trujillo Valle, Colombia.

It has been a long journey due to the effects of the pandemic, but our pride and joy have made it finally safely to Cape Town.

We currently have limited stock on 8 unique coffees available for South African roasters from these two-world renowned coffee estates.

CAFÉ FINCA LA JULIA

Finca La Julia is a coffee farm located in the mountains of the small rural town of Trujillo, Valle del Cauca between 1420 and 1700 meters above sea level, surrounded by forests, watersheds, and biodiversity.

The estate is owned by two siblings, the second generation of coffee growers, Nicolas and Karo. Their father, Octavio, built La Julia in the 90s, with Angela’s, their mother, constant support.

After the passing of their father in 2002, Nicolas took on the baton in 2005. He applied all of his agro-industrial engineering knowledge to his farm’s production. Karo moved back to Colombia after living abroad for several years, and they transformed La Julia estate into what it is today: one of the top specialty coffee producing farms in Valle del Cauca.

In 2006 La Julia obtained their first 2 Rainforest Alliance Certification, giving their convincement that this was how they wanted to produce their coffee.

Niko and Karo are deeply committed to sustainable practices, and this is the first time that Finca La Julia’s diverse offering of high-end specialty coffees and processes are available in South Africa.

José met Nicolas over 15 years ago when they were neighbours while living in Cali during their university time. They didn’t know that many years later they would, fortunately, cross paths again as coffee producer and coffee importer and both La Julia and Sabores are very excited with this new partnership.

La Julia Estate exports exotic varieties to several Asian countries, including Taiwan, South Korea, the UAE, Qatar, also to Australia and to the USA. Nicolas is currently committed to producing high-quality specialty coffees through several traditional and innovative processes: washed, semi-washed, honey, naturals and fermented.

In our 2020 collection, you may find exciting new varieties for South African coffee connoisseurs like the Tabi variety, which will indeed become one of the new favourites in our country.

From Finca La Julia (Nicolas Ocampo Maya):

• Castillo Natural
• Tabi Co. Natural
• Geisha Red Honey
• Estate Blend
• Java Natural

ELKIN GUZMAN

Elkin Guzman has been recognized as one of the best multigenerational coffee producers of Colombia in the last decade. As an agronomist, he is very passionate and interested in his scientific approach to coffee production. He is inspired by systematic research and experimentation. He is something of a data nerd, especially when it comes to unlocking the secrets to top-quality coffee.

He has become an internationally known Colombian coffee grower with his 30-hectare coffee estate El Mirador located in the Department of Huila, in the town of El Rosal close to Pitalito. He was kind enough to share with Sabores his story.

About 13 years ago he was able to purchase El Mirador farm which used to belong to his grandparents. Along with his wife, his mother and the rest of his team, they are currently exporting almost 95% of the coffee that their farm produces.

He says that their objective as a team is to make the most out of each variety they harvest thanks to the unique natural environment and microclimate at El Mirador, aiming to potentiate the qualities of the coffee cherries through the different processes that they apply to them.

Elkin has developed his own original processes and has also mastered carbonic maceration and baristas from all over the world have chosen his coffees to use in competitions thanks to the complex flavours, winning important awards that make El Mirador’s team very proud.

This is the first time that Finca El Mirador’s coffees are available in South Africa, and Sabores is proudly the first importer of Elkin’s coffees to our country, introducing three amazing varieties in our 2020 collection.

To learn more about Carbonic Maceration, take a look at our blog post on CARBONIC MACERATION where Elkin has given us access to the technicalities behind his art.

From Elkin Guzman, Finca El Mirador:

• Caturra 100HR
• Sweet Catiope
• Bourbon Blend

OUR 2020 COLLECTION JOURNEY

The anticipation of receiving these lots was killing us! These coffees were bought early in March 2020 through Cafe1959; however, due to the current pandemic and its effects on international logistics, we were only able to receive them in October. As you are aware, Covid has hit the coffee industry in SA harshly due to the lockdown policies limiting coffee shops and roasteries operations. It has also hit the import-export logistics tremendously with increased prices (dollar-rand exchange rates were also sky-high back in March), and with lengthy transportation times between one port to the other. Colombia is quite far from South Africa, and there isn’t much commercial traffic happening regularly between these two countries, which of course makes the whole logistics delays even worse.

These coffees come in vacuum-sealed bags inside boxes to ensure long-lasting freshness. The Colombian antinarcotic police randomly chose a few of our packages and pierced through the bags during their inspection at customs at the port damaging the vacuum system. The coffee inside is still intact, but of course, this made the whole experience a bit sour when we finally got to inspect each of our coffee boxes.

We finally have these unique coffees safely stored in our newly created showroom (roasters: this is an ideal space for you to come and visit and have a cupping session! We recently received our Ikawa sample roaster as part of our aim to keep the highest standards of quality control).

Some of them within a week have already been sold out! We couldn’t feel prouder of being the only company in SA that solely focuses on high-quality Colombian specialty coffees ensuring transparency, fair trade, and serving as a bridge between the farmer and the roaster.