La Esperanza is a very neat, beautiful farm. From the main house that looks down on to the processing facilities that hold and dry most of the coffee for La Esperanza and nearby Cerro Azul, to the filed of conical Laurina rising up the hillside towards the field of dreams everything here looks neat and well managed.

The Garden of Varieties lies higher up on the farm, near their organic composting facility where they break down the waste on the farm to use as fertilizer later on. Purpurescens, Catamara, Robusta and even Liberica amongst many more live here, and it is here that perhaps the heart of Café Granja is revealed. Although known for their competition coffees and fermentations, it’s the love of characteristics from singular varietals, and the hybridisation of those traits to grow outstanding trees that is easy to lose sight of.

Despite the innovation, it’s a personal farm that feels very connected to the family. With rooms for visiting guests and a large long balcony running around the colourful building it is a very welcoming space.

A new cupping room with view over the mountains towards Cerro Azul is being built and is expected to be finished in 2022. The old Casa Elba is still there, but newer raised beds in a solar drier dry some of the coffee, alongside 3 mechanical driers of differing capacity. Coffee is fermented in barrels, with temps logged and timings carefully monitored. Sr. Ivan is in charge of the mill and the storage facility and when a truck full has been harvested and is ready, coffees will be driven to Caicedonia and the two warehouses there that prepare the coffee ready for export.