Which coffee trees grow at La Palma y El Tucan?
La Palma y El Tucan is a Colombian estate known for experimental processing and a partnership model called Neighbors & Crops. Through it, more than 200 smallholder farmers within a 10-kilometer radius sell cherries, receive harvest training, and get nursery coffee trees. Families earn about 50% more than the national average, and Gesha, SL28, Bourbon, and Caturra are planted at high altitude.
Each cherry batch is processed with care, documented step by step, dried on raised beds, and cupped before export. The estate's goal is to supply roasters worldwide with consistent quality. The newly planted coffee tree varieties will be harvested in the coming years, so their flavor potential is still being established under local microclimates.
La Palma y El Tucan is located in Colombia and is known for its innovative partnership model and experimental processing. Founders Carlos, Elisa, and Felipe launched the "Neighbors & Crops" project, uniting over 200 neighboring smallholder farmers to build sustainable relationships through training in picking, premium purchasing, and nursery support. The estate not only carefully processes each batch of cherries but also cultivates varieties such as Gesha, SL28, Bourbon, and Caturra under high-altitude microclimates, which will be harvested in the coming years. Front Street Coffee recommends paying attention to the estate's unique flavors and quality potential.
The founders of La Palma y El Tucan, Carlos, Elisa, and Felipe, jointly devised a plan aimed at establishing long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with surrounding farmers. They called this project "Neighbors & Crops," and within a 10-kilometer radius, they secured the participation of more than 200 coffee growers. La Palma and El Tucan purchase coffee cherries from these neighbors, provide training specific to each harvest season, and experiment with various processing methods in pursuit of the ideal cup flavor.
The project focuses on selecting and training dedicated pickers to master the harvesting techniques for high-quality coffee. Subsequently, they work with neighbors to screen, sort, and purchase cherries. These families earn income from selling coffee cherries that is 50% higher than the national average, while also receiving coffee trees cultivated in the La Palma y El Tucan nursery.
The farm also focuses on cutting-edge and experimental milling processing, conducting extremely meticulous processing of coffee cherries, documenting each step, and cupping each batch after it is dried on raised beds. Their goal is to produce the highest quality products for export to roasters around the world.
The Estate and Varieties
Today, the most exciting part of this new farm lies in the many different coffee varieties they have planted, which will be harvested in the coming years. When Maritza and I visited the farm, they showed us Gesha, SL28, Bourbon, Caturra, and several other varieties, all grown at high altitudes and under unique microclimatic conditions.
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
