Feature Filter: El. Silencio (Honey) | Colombia

More about this coffee and the ACC association:

ACC stands for Asociación de Caficultores del Centro de Cauca por la Paz

The ACC coop (Asociación de Caficultores del Centro de Cauca por la Paz - Association of coffee producers of Central Cauca for Peace) is a non-profit organisation that was created in 2016 in Piendamó, Cauca. The purpose of the association has always been improving the coffee quality, going all the way from the crop until the commercialization of the coffee, where improving these aspects will have a social impact on the region. Improving the wellbeing of the farmer families, taking care of the environment, and fostering peace in the region, still heavily impacted by coca related guerilla violence. 

The association’s key founder - Robinson Rivera - is an energetic and driven producer, who has been growing coffee for 18 years. And for the last 5 year he has also been a leader of the ACC growers’ association. Robinson grew up in a disadvantaged background and worked very hard since he was child, often as a picker on various coffee farms. Overtime, he saved up enough to be able to buy his own farm to grown and process great quality coffee.

Furthermore, Robinson wanted to offer opportunities and see other growers in his area succeed and gain great value for their coffee. Together with his brother and friend Alex they have started the ACC grower's association in order to be able to improve quality, promote the region’s coffees and access the speciality market where they can obtain the best value for it.

ACC has 77 associates with an average of 1.5 hectares of land in altitude ranging between 1,700 and 2,100 masl. Every member that has joined the group is a believer of the power of associations, where the main goal is to fight against poverty and social conflicts in the region. The association helps members with commercial strategies and crop related technology. The association can purchase coffees in dried parchments, or also as cherry to be processed at a centralised processing station managed by Robinson and two others. Robinson, Alex and others from the association are well trained cuppers (coffee tasters) and have been learning a lot about various different styles of processing. Over the last few years they have worked hard on developing strong protocols to achieve consistency with their special prep processes and this lot is a great testament to their skills and knowledge.

About this lot and the ACC Honey process:

This coffee is composed of cherry contributed by the associations members and processed at El Silencio farm using the below protocol:

1. Coffee is picked very ripe to ensure higher sugar content.

2. During the floating process, floaters are removed to retain only the best cherries for processing.

3. The cherries are then fermented (with oxygen) for 12 hours in the washing tank.

4. The coffee is then de-pulped and stored in the reception tank for a 36-hour fermentation in mucilage.

5. The cherries are moved to a parabolic drying system until they reach 10% moisture, which takes about 5-6 days.