Feature Espresso: Walter Penna | Colombia

About Walter & the ASORCAFE group:

Walter Penna is an experienced coffee grower based in the Inza municipality of Cauca region, Central Colombia. His farm La Bella Vista is located at around 1800 masl and planted with Caturra, Tabi, Colombia varieties. Walter has been growing coffee for 30 years and has been a member of the ASORCAFE group for the last 19 years. This sweet and fruity coffee was selected for its exceptional quality and sold as a premium value microlot.

ASORCAFE is a coffee producers’ association based in the town of Pedregal in Cauca region, Central Colombia. The association was set up in 2003 by producers for producers. The goal was to become more organised and able to connect growers with high quality coffee buyers. It now has over 290 members and also provides further education and training, with the intention to improve living conditions of producers, and their communities.

Siruma Coffee (Falcon’s and now also our exporter partner in Colombia through whom all our Colombian coffee is currently purchased) started working with ASORCAFE in 2021 after establishing initial connection with them. During harvest Asorcafe deliver samples to Siruma where they are cupped and assessed for their cup quality, making sure the physical specifications meet standards for moisture, yield and cup quality. After this the coffee is delivered to Siruma’s warehouse in Manizales and Asorcafe are paid immediately for the coffees. From Manizales the coffee is prepared for dry milling and export.