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Juan Jimenez is a second-generation coffee farmer who has been running his own show since 1980. His farm, Finca Buena Vista, is in one of my favourite regions of Colombia. The region is called Palestina and it’s in the southern end of the department (Colombia has departments, not provinces) of Huila. In fact, he is neighbours with our long-time friend and producer, Jose Martinez. He grows Caturra, Pink Bourbon, Red Bourbon and Typica.
I’ve always been a big fan of coffees from Palestina. Since the advent of Juan Valdez and the Colombian marketing machine in the 1980’s, most of Colombia’s coffee producers have replanted their farms with highly productive and hearty coffee varieties. They grow these varieties in high density, removing nearly all the shade from their farms, and they use agrochemicals more frequently. In contrast, the small region of Palestina, situated in the southern part of the department of Huila, still maintains some of the coffee varieties and shade trees that gave Colombia its original coffee fame.
One of the cool aspects of Juan’s production is his fermentation. Due to the cooler conditions in his farm, he needs to ferment 36-48 hours, and, in my experience, this almost always leads to better flavours in the cup. Juan is lucky to be married to Leydi, who is his amazing right hand at the farm. When I met Leydi, I could instantly tell she was in charge of all the details – she is meticulous. Leydi and Juan care deeply about doing things ‘right’, so things like cleanliness and hygiene and punctuality in processing are done at a very high level. This deep respect for attention to detail is rare!
- Sebastian
