Yoiner Mosquera
This is the second time we have worked with Yoiner Mosquera, on his farm just outside Palestina, a major centre for coffee growing in the southern Huila region. However, we have worked with his family for many years, having previously purchased coffee from his mother, Durley Sánchez, and his two uncles Rigoberto and Orlando, all of whom are part of the LaREB collective. The family’s history in coffee starts with Yoiner’s grandfather, who was originally from the Cundinamarca region, but moved to Caicedonia after getting married. Caicedonia is a small town not far from the ‘Coffee Triangle’ cities of Armenia, Pereira and Manizales, one we are familiar with after several visits to the Café Granja La Esperanza quality lab in the town centre, and to their nearby farms at Potosí and Las Margaritas.
Mid-century Colombia wasn’t an easy place to earn a stable living, and Yoiner’s grandfather was displaced from Caicedonia by violence in the mid 1940’s. This was not an uncommon occurrence at the time, and each farmer knew they had to take with them some sort of method of creating a new livelihood. Of course in this case the answer was coffee seeds, eventually planted in land not far from Palestina in 1949. Since then, the family has become rather successful in coffee, especially Orlando. In fact, there was such respect for him within the community that he was pushed to run for mayor of Palestina, serving two terms in 1995 and 2000. He has his own farm now, leaving the original Sanchez lands from 1949 to his sisters Durley and Marisela, and brother Rigoberto.
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The Sánchez family are still highly respected in the community of Palestina, and in the wider speciality coffee movement in Huila, one that has gained great momentum over the past decade or so. Due to this, they are very sought after coffee growers, but choose to work with LaREB as their goals align; a genuine and passionate drive to preserve coffee growing communities across Colombia, and help them to prosper. Yoiner is in his early 40’s, rather young for a coffee producer in Colombia, part of the new generation driving the family business forward, tightening connections with LaREB and doubling down the focus on quality. We are excited to see how the project progresses, working together with our partners from LaREB to continue to produce and export excellent coffee from Palestina.
Pink Bourbon
The Sánchez family have long been a driving force in speciality coffee in Huila, and were one of the first to adopt the now widely grown ‘Pink Bourbon’ varietal. Always with a view to ‘lead from the fields’, they have continually pushed for modern coffee growing techniques that add value, while keeping the reality of many farmers’ situations in mind. Pink Bourbon, while giving a more distinct cup profile than many traditional Colombian varietals, also yields high, and tolerates many diseases and fungi. The washed process used here is also a Colombian tradition, de-pulped, fermented for approximately 24 hours, washed, then dried on raised beds. Here we find an excellent example of the Pink Bourbon profile, with complex floral aromatics followed by a very clean currant acidity in the cup, balanced by a rich and syrupy body.
