Farm Info

Producer: Echavarria Family
Region: Antioquia


Background Information

Santa Barbara Estate is composed of 5 sister farms that lie across three neighbouring, geographical regions - Santa Barbara, Fredonia and Amagá. Established in the 1980s, from the beginning Sr. Pedro Echavarria knew that location was crucial. Attracted by diverse microclimates, singular volcanic soils, perfect altitude and a tradition of excellence in coffee production, he established a small farm in the high Andes of Antioquia. By marrying these perfect natural conditions with hard work and efficiency, he quickly grew both the area under cultivation and the farm’s reputation.

In the last five years, Pedro’s son – also Pedro – has become more deeply involved in the workings of the farm, taking the already high quality of the coffee to new heights through experimentation in processing and increased monitoring and control of every stage of production. Pedro Jr. and Santa Barbara’s Coffee Director, Leonardo Henao Triana, manage their wet mill with a blend of art, industrial rigor and scientific curiosity. They are committed to further developing the Estate’s capacity for the highest quality coffee possible and have even brought their offerings to Medellin, Colombia through their flagship coffee shop, Pergamino.

Santa Barbara began working with Mercanta in 2011. In addition to supplying us with various astounding coffees, Pedro and Leo have developed specifically for Mercanta this ‘La Joyería’ microlot.

La Joyeria truly is ‘the jewel’ of the Estate. These lots are grown at an average altitude of 1700 meters and are 100% Colombia variety. Each lot is composed of two days worth of picking; the coffee picked on the second day is added to the first after 24 hours fermentation and then left to ferment in the tanks for a further 24 hours. In this method of fermentation, the second batch raises the ph level of the fermentation tank, permitting longer fermentation times without the acetic acid produced by bacteria at a lower ph level.

La Joyería is named for and processed at the main mill on the Santa Bárbara farm. The mill can process up to 7,000 bags of coffee; however, La Joyería makes up a very small percentage of this volume. It is also stored and milled separately from the volume production.

Santa Bárbara Estate employs 60 people all year round, who on average earn 30% above the minimum wage.  Half of these also receive free housing within the farm for themselves and their families. A further 1,200 pickers are hired during the main harvest, comprised mainly of farmers from around the Santa Bárbara Estate who pick coffee to supplement their income. Workers are generally long-term employees and have been with the company for more than 10 years.

The Santa Bárbara Estate also runs an extensive scholarship and financial aid program for worker’s children as well as helping long-standing employees to acquire their own piece of land upon retirement.

La Joyería

Founded in 2015 by Luke Underdown (pictured centre), Garage Coffee is a speciality coffee roasters based in the beautiful village of Hoath, just outside of Canterbury, Kent. Owner & Founder Luke identified a gap in the market to bring great coffee to the people of Kent, and started of trading at local markets and events to build the Garage brand. By 2016, Garage Coffee had gained a significant following and started to supply some wonderful hospitality businesses across the county.

In 2017, Garage Coffee opened it's flagship shop and training room in the heart of Canterbury, just off the high street and now has a small team making great coffee and sharing the same vision!

We roast in small 3kg batches for optimum quality, and only roast speciality grade coffees which are always fully traceable and fairly traded. Since launching, we have been building relationships with farmers, and sourcing coffee from the same farms season after season, with plans to make trips to these farmers in the near future!

And finally, why Garage Coffee?  Well, we are not actually based in a garage. But that's where it all started! Our roastery is situated on a campsite in Hoath and Luke had plans to convert a garage on site into a wonderful roasting labrynth - however it was just a little too close to the campers! So, he decided to source a shipping container and convert into a roastery! As 'Shipping Container Coffee' didn't quite have the same ring - he decided to stick with 'Garage Coffee', and 

La Joyería

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La Joyería

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