Colombia - Luz Helena Salazar
about the producer.
Luz Helena is a force to be reckoned with. She first began managing coffee farms over 20 years ago when her husband Jairo Arcila’s farms were struggling and needed a completely new hands-on approach in order to survive. At the time coffee prices were very low and margins were incredibly thin - Jairo was busy with his full-time career running dry mills for one of Colombia’s largest exporters - and the people in place to run the farms required more oversight. With a background in accounting Luz Helena dissected the business needs of the farms and began learning everything about coffee production. With incredible strength and determination she took over the day to day running of the farms, working directly with the farm agronomists to make all decisions from variety selection to soil management and harvest. Since then Luz Helena has established her own farm in Quindío, Finca Mazatlan, where she has full control over every detail and is producing exceptional coffees.
Luz Helena & Jairo have two sons, Felipe & Carlos Arcila. After school they both moved to Australia to pursue careers outside of coffee. Everything changed when they walked into a specialty cafe in Australia and saw the menu prices. How was it possible that a single coffee was being sold for so much more than a pound of green coffee? They started talking with roasters in Australia and sharing coffee from back home and getting feedback on the quality of the green coffee. This was how they learned about specialty coffee and that there was a market for high quality coffee to be sold at higher prices direct to roasters. They went back home and began working with their parents and local farmers to raise the coffee quality and access this specialty market. This was the start of Cofinet, based out of Quindío, a network of quality focused coffee producers exporting directly to specialty coffee roasters.
What started in 2015 has flourished. Today Felipe & Carlos own and manage a processing facility called La Pradera where Cofinet producers can send their coffee for state of the art post-harvest processing by the Cofinet team. Cofinet also consults on farm practices and even provides seeds and nursery plants for producing partners to introduce new high end varieties to their farms. Regional and Exceptional lots from some of Colombia’s best producers travel through La Pradera and are sent all over the world. The change that this family has made possible is staggering and we are proud to share their coffees with our community.
about the coffee.
Pink Bourbon is Luza Helena Salazar’s favourite variety and tasting this microlot from Finca Mazatlan we can understand why! This variety got its name because the coffee cherries ripen to a beautiful pink colour and it was originally thought to be a bourbon variant or hybrid. The exciting discovery came when genetic testing in 2017 and 2023 revealed that Pink Bourbon is in fact a distinct Ethiopian landrace variety.
It is unclear how it arrived in Colombia, however seeds have often been brought from Ethiopia to other producing countries for the purpose of developing hybrids or introducing new varieties to diversify the gene pool and develop new flavour profiles. Whatever the reason we are grateful that it made its way here. Similar to its Gesha cousin, Pink Bourbon is known for being floral and delicate with bright acidity and fruit characteristics.
This lot is grown at 1400 to 1450 metres above sea level. Ripe cherries are hand picked and sorted at the farm before being transported to La Pradera, Cofinet’s processing mill. The cherries are sealed in plastic sacks and submerged in water for 30 hours. This cool anaerobic fermentation develops the coffee’s fruit sweetness without overpowering the more delicate floral aromas. The cherries are then pulped and fully washed to remove all fruit material before slowly drying on raised beds in the climate controlled greenhouse. The result is exceptional sweetness and clarity showcasing the best of Luz Helena Salazar’s work and her favourite varietal Pink Bourbon.
cup profile.
wildflower honey | fuji apple | berries
Classic Pink Bourbon florals and a coating mouthfeel reminds us of wildflower honey. This filter coffee is crisp and sweet with a juicy acidity that tastes like fuji apple and blackberry. The finish is clean and smooth carrying all of these flavours long after the last sip.
