Nudo Artisan Coffee

Rafael Aya has spent his entire life surrounded by coffee, and for the past twenty years he has been cultivating his own farms in southern Colombia. Originally from Tolima, he moved to Huila as a teenager, where he later settled with his wife Elvira Cuéllar in La Florida, a rural area near Timaná. Together they established La Virginia, a five-hectare farm, three and a half hectares of which are currently producing coffee. In addition, Rafael also manages La Violeta, a six-hectare farm he began working on in 2018. La Violeta is owned by Dimitri, a Russian friend who runs a coffee company. Their strong relationship started when Dimitri tasted Rafael’s coffee, leading to a long-term business partnership based on trust and quality. Since 2018, Rafael has specialized in producing high-quality coffee, much of which he sells to Dimitri. His coffees have also won fifteen international championships, further strengthening his reputation.Before selling internationally, Rafael studied various aspects of coffee production at Colombia’s National Learning Service (SENA) Escuela Nacional del Café, located in nearby Pitalito. Azahar, a specialty coffee company, has collaborated with the Aya family since 2016, recognizing Rafael as one of the region’s most innovative producers. La Virginia itself is remarkable: its fields, drying areas, and gardens sit on the slopes of a mountain, separated from the rest of the property by a lush river valley with its own microclimate. Before the installation of a cable car system, transporting harvested coffee required long treks on foot or with the help of the family’s mule, Pacho.Rafael is known not only for his dedication and innovation but also for the warm hospitality of his family. This Natural Pink Bourbon is a Masterpiece of his coffee art.

Guji is very mountainous and densely forested, the soil is rich and the potential therefor coffee is spectacular, all of these elements come together to make it one of themost exceptional coffee growing regions in the world. It would be a mistake to thinkGuji’s reputation is purely down to environmental niche. People have been growingcoffee here for a long time and the farmers here are very skilled and knowledgeable.Cultivation has been happening here for the last 100 years or so but before that coffeegrew wild in the Guji forest and was harvested and more informally farmed for 500years, possibly longer! So coffee is a hugely important part of the culture here andthere is a lot of passed down knowledge and skill. People take good care of theirfarms and the soil is very rich for coffee growing, leading to very healthy plants and good fruit. When it comes to harvesting the picking is very skilled, people take a lot ofpride in their coffee and only pick the good ripe cherries.

Silvia Carolina Herrera Hernández is a second-generation coffee grower and the daughter of a founding member of the local coffee growers’ cooperative, Unión de Ejidos y Comunidades San Fernando. From a young age, Silvia witnessed the positive impact that community work brings to coffee farming. Inspired by this, she has actively promoted collective action on both local and regional levels ever since.Her farm, Nuevo San Luis, is located in the municipality of Ocozocoautla de Espinosa, also known as Coita, in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The farm spans 50 hectares, divided into six segments (and or “pantes” as locals call them). These pantes help organize the land and separate different coffee varieties, as the farm is rich in coffee diversity. Each pante is managed by one of the six family members involved in the farm’s daily operations, with Silvia taking the lead. She oversees all technical aspects and handles the physical and sensory analysis of the microlots produced.Starting in September and October, Silvia and her family begin preparing for the harvest. They employ several workers, whom they strive to retain year-round in order to ensure stable work and adequate living conditions. The harvest typically runs from January through April. Once the hand-selection of ripe cherries is completed, the coffee is weighed, washed, and, depending on the process, either depulped or left to ferment as whole cherry. All coffee on Silvia’s farm is dried on raised beds. After drying, the coffee undergoes multiple rounds of quality analysis through cupping. Silvia is also responsible for the commercialization of her family’s coffee.Silvia would like to share the following message with her international clients:“Within the past four years, we have developed the best profile and potential of this coffee, maintained its quality, and worked towards its improvement. We are investing in infrastructure and genetic material so the organization can be constantly acknowledged as a specialty coffee provider.” This coffee is especially meaningful to the Azahar family, as Silvia was one of the first producers from whom we purchased microlots in Mexico.

San Francisco is a village in the district of Huabal, home to over 50 farming families. Altitudes in the area range from 1600 to 2000 metres above sea level, and the main coffee varieties grown are Caturra and Catimor. As in most of Northern Peru, drying beds and tents are still uncommon, with most producers drying their coffee on tarpaulin mats on the ground. Huabal has significant potential for high-quality coffee, but due to poor infrastructure, many producers lack the resources and knowledge to unlock that potential. Altitudes in the area range from 1200 to 2100 metres above sea level, with most of the producers we work with being above 1800 metres. Many producers in Huabal have regenerated their farms with Catimores, a variety promoted by the government and multinational buyers. In some altitudes, Catimores have yielded good results and, with proper management, can produce decent cup quality. Due to the district's geographical spread across multiple mountains, climate conditions and soil types vary significantly. Some areas experience wet, humid conditions with red, African-like soils, while others are dry and hot. This diversity contributes to a wide range of delicious cup profiles and complex coffees.THE SPARKLING WATER DECAFFEINATION PROCESS:This process was first discovered by a scientist called Kurt Zosel at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in 1967 as he was looking at new ways of separating mixtures of substances. In 1988, a German decaffeination company called CR3 developed this process for decaffeination whereby natural carbon dioxide (which comes from prehistoric underground lakes) is combined with water to create sub-critical conditions which creates a highly solvent substance for caffeine in coffee.It is a gentle, natural and organically certified process and the good caffeine selectivity of the carbon dioxide guarantees a high retention level of other coffee components which contribute to taste and aroma.The process is outlined below:The green beans enter a pre-treatment vessel where they are cleaned and moistened with water before being brought into contact with pressurised liquid carbon dioxide.When the green coffee beans absorb the water, they expand and the pores are opened resulting in the caffeine molecules becoming mobile.After the water has been added, the beans are then brought into contact with the pressurised liquid carbon dioxide which combines with the water to essentially form sparkling water.The carbon dioxide circulates through the beans and acts like a magnet, drawing out the mobile caffeine molecules.The sparkling water then enters an evaporator which precipitates the caffeine rich carbon dioxide out of the water.he now caffeine free water is pumped back into the vessel for a new cycle.This cycle is repeated until the required residual caffeine level is reached.Once this has happened, the circulation of carbon dioxide is stopped and the green beans are discharged into a drier.The decaffeinated coffee is then gently dried until it reaches its original moisture content, after which it is ready for roasting.There are several benefits to using this process for decaffeination: The agent used for extracting the caffeine is entirely natural and the process can be classified as 'organic' due to the complete lack of chemicals used throughout.There is also no health risk by consuming coffee that has been decaffeinated in this way. The way the process works means the other compounds in the green bean are left untouched, meaning decaffeination has no effect on the flavour and aroma of the finished product.The carbon dioxide is very selective and doesn't extract the carbohydrates and proteins in the green bean which contribute to flavour and smell.The cell structure of the green bean and the finished roasted bean is unchanged which is of great advantage when working with specialty coffees.

Established in 2003, Gatare washing station holds a significant position in Nyamasheke district, Western Province, as one of the first stations to process high-quality coffee for export. Despite being located in a competitive area where several washing stations share farmer populations, Gatare’s early establishment has cemented its reputation and influence. Surrounded by hills covered in coffee trees, the station has consistently performed well in the Cup of Excellence competition, frequently ranking among the top lots. Gatare boasts a large processing capacity, equipped with a 3-ton/hour McKinnon disc pulper, washing channels, dry fermentation tanks, and multiple soaking tanks. The station spans just 2 hectares but supports 1,096 local farmers, who collectively contributed 1,000 tons of cherries in 2017. However, competition from nearby stations has reduced annual production, with 600 tons processed in 2019 and an estimated 400 tons in 2023. Since RTC took ownership in 2016, the station has been managed by Fred, who brings a passion for learning and sees knowledge as the key to unlocking opportunities. Gatare employs seven full-time staff and an additional 90 seasonal workers, 80% of whom are women. Farmers contributing to Gatare typically have very small plots, averaging just 1 hectare, with some farms hosting as few as 10 coffee trees among other crops. Nevertheless, all farmers involved are trained by RTC to maximize the quality and yield of their coffee trees.