Oso Negro Coffee

MESA DE LOS SANTOS REVISITED

By John Cossette, Royal Coffee Ltd., Green Coffee Importers, San Francisco

Last September, just prior to the current harvest, I paid a quick visit to Colombia. I was invited down by the League of Cooperatives to give a speech on current market trends in the U.S. gourmet coffee sector and perceptions of Colombian coffee here in the states. They applauded my words, slapped my back, and have promptly ignored all of the advice and suggestions I left with them. Fortunately, the trip wasn’t a total bust, as I was able to spend the weekend visiting our main vein for Colombian organic coffee—La Finca “El Roble”, better known as Café Mesa de Los Santos in Bucaramanga.

It had been 3 years since my last visit to the farm. In that time, the farm had grown substantially, numerous changes had been implemented for purposes of quality control, and a variety of health and social programs had gone into effect to make working conditions among the best on any coffee farm in Latin America. Abandoned pasture land that was just being planted with shade trees and coffee seedlings on my last tour was now ready for its first harvest, while some of the shade trees were already over 25 feet high. New tanks were built in the wet mill, new dryers were added in the beneficio, and a cupping lab had been created and a professional cupper had been hired to monitor the cup quality of the upcoming harvest.

Meanwhile, the ancient, heavily shaded parcels continue to produce - the Acevedo family has been growing coffee on the farm for over 100 years. In the farm offices, meticulous data is maintained for each growing parcel—number, age, and variety of coffee trees, number and name of all shade tree species, harvest figures, composting data, etc. The farm is still the first and only farm in Colombia to be certified by the Smithsonian as Bird Friendly for its shade tree cover, in addition to being one of the first certified organic farms in the country.

Delving further into the makeup of the farm, the newly established cupping facility has taken up the task of cupping coffee from virtually every parcel on the farm just days after processing has been completed. In doing so, the best coffees have been isolated to create the signature “Mesa de Los Santos” blend, while good quantities of the strait varietals, including bourbon, have also been selected out to be offered individually. In our upcoming shipment due to arrive in February, roasters will have the choice of 3 distinct coffee types from the farm, all immaculately prepared, all cupping superbly, and all certified organic and shade grown.

While there have been many changes in the physical setting, even greater measures have been initiated into the social structure of the farm. As the farm grows, there is a subsequent need for additional labor. At the peak of this year’s harvest in November, there were over 200 employees working the farm, while a full time, permanent force of close to 100 employees are maintained year round. Among the benefits that make working at the farm so desirable are pay rates well above Colombian minimum wage, even for temporary laborers; free health care coverage for the workers and their families; disability coverage for temporary or permanent work absence due to injury; pension fund for retirement; and an educational allowance for the children of the full time employees. These are benefits many companies here in the U.S. still won’t offer to their workers. To see it happening on a coffee farm in Latin America is virtually unheard of.

With the beautiful natural setting of this farm, the shaded, organically cultivated fields, and a contented and amiable work force, Mesa de los Santos is a Shangri-La in the middle of a country racked with political, environmental and economic problems. While the farm can’t qualify as Fair Trade due to its size, it is truly worthy of the support currently given to Fair Trade coffees for all of the reasons cited above. Visit the farm, roast and drink the coffee. For all that goes into a bag of Mesa de los Santos, it is a bargain at any price. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for the League of Cooperatives to pay for my plane ticket.