SAN RAFAEL, TABI, COLOMBIA - FILTER COFFEE

San Rafael comes from Jhon Jairo Gómez’s farm, San Rafael, in San Agustín, Huila, Colombia, at 1,950–2,000 meters above sea level. It is a washed coffee, but with a longer-than-usual fermentation. In the cup you’ll find complex tropical fruit, a lingonberry-like acidity, and floral notes. Bright and lively, yet balanced by a syrupy sweetness. Truly a coffee with character.

Jhon Jairo is a producer whose coffee quality has been exceptional for a long time, but that didn’t used to be reflected in the price he received. In San Agustín it has been common to sell coffee “en verde” (wet): depulped but still wet, sold onward through the local market. With today’s production costs, this can mean significantly lower income and even unprofitable farming, even when quality is high. That changed in 2019, when Semilla Coffee (our green coffee partner) bought a 70 kg bag from him and recognized the high quality he was producing. Since then, Jhon has built his own processing setup at San Rafael: a motorized depulper and a solar dryer, and he continues to develop his farm long-term, including planting new varieties.

Processing at the farm works like this: cherries are harvested roughly every three weeks, fermented for 24 hours in sealed bags, depulped the next day, and then dry-fermented for a further 36 hours in tiled tanks. The coffee is then rinsed, drained in bags, and dried in a solar dryer for 15–20 days. The cool climate makes Tabi slow to mature and keeps volumes small, but it also elevates cup clarity and overall quality. Jhon’s coffees are a concrete example of how much potential the region has when producers are able to process their coffee themselves.

Jhon is part of the Monkaaba Project, a community-led smallholder initiative in San Agustín, Huila, Colombia. It began with seven farming families and works to improve coffee quality, support producers, and strengthen their access to the specialty coffee market. The project is supported by Semilla and is led locally by Esnaider Ortega-Gómez and Didier Ortega. Monkaaba has also become a key part of Jhon’s everyday life: he has built a strong customer base for his coffees and found a supportive community through the project. He spends a lot of time at Monkaaba’s facilities and cupping lab, takes part in tasks such as sample roasting, cupping, and coordinating coffee deliveries, and often joins Esnaider and Didier when they visit farms to connect with other growers in the project.