La Cristalina is located in Vereda Bajo Español, in the municipality of Chinchina. Its 21 hectares reach between 1460 and 1790 masl, with 4.1 hectares dedicated to an environmental reserve.

The three Valdes family farms; Parana, La Cristalina, and San Pablo—are highly technified properties, with admirable levels of production thanks to their combined total of 421,000 trees, 142,000 of which grow on Finca La Cristalina.

Each year portions of the farm are replanted, always keeping in mind biodiversity and the environment. Coffee is washed and de-pulped at the ecological mill, where the pulp is placed in a compost treatment to be converted to organic fertilizer for the coffee trees.

The Cristalina Blend is a washed blend of Caturra, Bourbon, and Castillo. After selecting and carefully handpicking in the field, the ripest cherries are taken for the floating process to remove the non-dense coffee cherries and coffee tree leaves that start floating.

This lot was fermented in cherry for 18 hours, and after de-pulping, it goes for its second stage of fermentation for another 48 hours. The coffee is then mechanically dried slowly over the course of ten days.

Caldas is one of Colombia’s principal coffee-growing Departments. Along with neighboring Risaralda and Quindío, it forms part of the “coffee axis” or “coffee triangle,” indicating the important of coffee activities; from research to social support programs to freeze drying to dry milling; that take place in the area, which is in turn part of the Coffee Cultural Landscape, recognized by UNESCO as a World Coffee Cultural Heritage site.

Caldas’ rolling landscape is defined by slopes planted with coffee. High, chilly cities and towns sit along mountain ridges, where smallholder farms and mid-sized estates are planted with predominantly monoculture coffee, protected from the excess sun by the region’s near-constant misty cloud cover. Many programs of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation have their official seats in Caldas, including the Cenicafe research facility. Many farms in Caldas are comparatively accessible by the main road, facilitating the speed of processing and export. The Department is home to many respected universities and coffee producers have access to many business and education resources.

Thank you to the amazing people at Sabores for allowing us the opportunity to host such amazing coffees. La Familia.