Rodrigo Oyuela is currently the president of the COAGROHERMOSAS association, as well as being the founder of this organization. He is known for his leadership and unmatched agronomical skills.
Coffee is very much a family tradition – Rodrigo has been in coffee since he was a child. As he grew up he managed to buy a few coffee farms but sold most of them because of low yields due to what he believes were soil issues and climate. He finally bought his current farm, Villamaria.
Rodrigo enjoys growing and experimenting with exotic varieties. In this case the Pink Bourbon seeds he used come from Acevedo, Huila.”
His farm is 33.5ha with coffee planted on 8 Ha with pink bourbon, castillo and colombia. In total he has 38000 trees.
Pink Bourbon process
A key part for his coffee profile is the correct ripeness, so he pays a premium of $2,000 COP (0.5 USD) for every 12.5kg of cherry picked as long as it is all in the ideal ripeness (no greens or medium ripe).
He lets the cherries go through an oxidation process for 12-14 hours, depending on the weather. The pulping machine is then used…it also has a mucilage remover (demucilage machine).
Rodrigo collects all the mucilage and honey-water of this pulping process in order to put the coffee beans in a GrainPro bag with the mucilage and honey-water for 22 hours. Finally he washes the coffee twice with clean water.
He stresses the importance of slow-drying his coffee in a Casa-Elda (sliding roof of the house), for approximately 10-15 days. If the sun is too hot he actually closes the Casa-Elda in order to keep the drying slow.
