La Cinta

Norberto Olaya grows coffee on a 50 hectare plot near the village of Montalvo, just outside the coffee centre of Planadas in Tolima. The region around Planadas is home to a great many larger farms than in much of the rest of Colombia, many of them well established and often with organic certification. While La Cinta is no longer organic certified, Norberto made the decision to follow the higher prices of the micro lot market, instead of contributing to organic regional lots.

Norberto works alongside his wife and six children to run the farm. Several of his children are studying in cities around Colombia, bringing experience in law, finance and environment back to the family business. Environmental management is important to the Olaya family; they maintain biodiversity by growing several secondary crops, and raise animals to contribute to their onsite compost production. Although they lost their organic certification, they continue to work with a focus on soil health and long term regenerative thinking.

Norberto and his family began working with InConexus over a decade ago, receiving support in agronomy, marketing and in sourcing new varietals for the farm. The standout varietal here is Wush Wush. Originating in Ethiopia, Wush Wush is named for the town in the southwest of the country where seeds were first isolated. From here, they made their way to Colombia, where they began to find popularity around 15 years ago. Norberto grows Wush Wush high on his farm, under carefully managed native shade trees, drawing on many years of connection to his specific land.

Cherries develop slowly under these conditions, resulting in a refined and expressive cup that reflects the variety's character, with delicate, defined floral and herbal aromas followed by delicate citrus and oolong tea in the cup.