Colombia - Women of ASMUCAFE

Colombia - Women of ASMUCAFE

Location: El Tambo, Cauca
Producer: Uribe Community
Process: Washed
Varietal: Castillo, Colombia
Altitude: 1400-2000 MASL

Medium Roast

We Taste: craisin, walnut, brown butter

ASMUCAFE stands for Asociación de Mujeres Agropecuarias de Uribe, an organization of women farmers and landowners in El Tambo, a municipality within Cauca. Their intention as an association is to improve quality of life for their families and to contribute positively to their community by collaboratively pooling resources, knowledge, and lending a hand as needed. "Our work is determined by our values such as responsibility, honesty, commitment, respect, solidarity, and competitiveness."

The main varietals are Castillo or Colombia, and are picked when purple (Castillo) or bright red (Colombia) cherry. It undergoes a somewhat unusual "double" fermentation process, as the women describe it: initially the cherries are held in the loading hoppers for 14 hours, then depulped in the afternoons and evening hours. Once they’re held in fermentation tanks for 10 hours, they are again washed 3-4 times before being dried either sundried for 8–12 days or placed in parabolic dryers.

In attempt to recognize and promote the work women do growing and producing coffee around the world, the Women Coffee Producers project at Cafe Imports was established in order to highlight organizations and associations of women producers in various countries. The program aims to address the widespread wage inequity that women experience by adding a gender-equity premium on top of a base price; this premium is paid directly to the growers for use in any manner they choose.

This coffee tastes good in addition to doing good; a slightly winey acidity with pips of craisins and walnuts finishes nicely into a body not dissimilar to drinking chocolate with strong cocoa and brown butter flavors.