The Valle de Cauca is a beautifully diverse region found in the southwest of Colombia covered with tropical forests and surrounded by coastal lowlands and high mountain ranges. The high towering peaks of Cauca belong to the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central, both subsections of the massive Andes mountain range that cross the entire West of South America.
The people of Colombia, in particular Cauca, have survived a history of narcotics and violence. For the thousands of farmers living in post-conflict regions, coffee provides them an opportunity to leave behind the violence of the past where production of illicit crops was the norm and embrace a peaceful future. The Cencoic Cooperative understands and advocates this ‘peace-movement’ of coffee.
The cooperative consists of nineteen groups which totals 2757 smallholder families. Through coffee, Cencoic strives to improve the lives of its members and offers advice, education, and assistance during harvest and processing. Recent initiatives include teaching families how to make their own organic fertilizers from waste, building plastic tanks for fermentation and parabolic dryers, which all improve sustainability and coffee quality.
All of these thoughtful sustainable practices and systems from Cencoic definitely do exhibit in the cup. This year's lot is particularly particularly creamy and smooth with notes of baked apple, toasted pecan, and milk chocolate. Please sip and enjoy!
