Christmas Coffee

Robinson Rivera Muelas is a 38 year old coffee grower from Piendamó, Cauca. His farm, El Silencio, is situated in the vereda (village) of El Agrado at an altitude of 1740masl. Robinson grows the Caturra, Colombia and Castillo varietals on his farm, producing around 7000kg of dry parchment coffee annually. In addition to his own production, Robinson also processes and dries coffee cherries brought to him by smaller growers in the area who lack proper processing facilities. He employs a unique double anaerobic fermentation method involving an initial anaerobic phase followed by an aerobic phase towards the end of the process. The coffee is then dried using both mechanical dryers and parabolic dryers. Robinson has been a member of the local growers association ACC for the past 6 years, where he serves as a founding partner and legal representative. His involvement with the association allows him to both share knowledge and improve processes for small producers in the region.