Photos
LEAD Director Terry Hejny, wishes a fond farewell to gracious host, Juan Pablo, proprietor of Hacienda Vanecia.
More than coffee: LEAD 40 is gathered at Hacienda Vanecia as owner, Juan Pablo, gives an overview of Colombian geography and history.
LEAD 40 visits with Álvaro Gaitán, PhD at Cenicafé about the different coffee regions of Colombia and their initiatives for producer education.
Water management is a serious consideration for coffee production. Colombia receives more than 2000mm of annual rainfall. This volume of precipitation requires careful attention to erosion control, nutrient usage, and companion crops. Here a controlled study of rainfall on filter strips is providing data to educate farmers on mitigation damages and crop loss from water related issues.
LEAD 40 learns about coffee research, extension, and genetic production at CINECAFE.
Seedling coffee plants at CINECAFE.
LEAD fellows discussing the commercial grade testing lab at CINECAFE.
Alvaro Gaitan is director of CINECAFE in Chinchiná, Colombia. Dr. Gaitan oversees all operations of the world’s premier coffee research facility.
Cinecafe is the world's only certified arabica coffee seed producer. They distribute 100,000 bags (1kg) to farmers at the cost of production. This ensures that new technology and the latest genetics are in the hands of producers to advance the industry.
The sorted varieties are now ready to be packaged into liter bags for purchase by farmers in each specific Colombian coffee region.
Coffee berries are sorted using machines like these to separate ripe (red) berries from unripe berries (green). Quality issues emerge when there are over 2.5% green berries in a sample. This machine is important to maintain the desired quality needed to differentiate coffee in the marketplace.
In 1993, traditional washing processes took 40 liters of water per 1 liter of coffee. Today, most producers require just 1.5 liter of water per 1 liter of coffee beans. This is just one of the many ways technology has helped producers and processors work more efficiently and sustainably.
After berries are sorted, they go through the washing process or specialty drying process to remove the fuselage from the seed.
Fellows Nate Parde and Andrew Bellamy take a quick break to enjoy the CENICAFE facilities and process what they’ve learned.
The Juan Valdez brand is managed by the marketing team of the Coffee Federation to promote Colombian coffee on the global stage.