Juan Antonio Herrera (Finca La Esperanza)

Description

La Esperanza is owned by siblings, Rigoberto and Luis Eduardo Herrera, third-generation coffee producers, who come from a long-standing coffee-producing family. Their grandparents started their careers in coffee in 1945 at Potosi farm. After Juan Antonio Herrera and his wife Blanca Ligia Correa purchased the land with existing Typica plants, they added three more cultivars: Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, and Caturra. It was then that Cafe Granja La Esperanza began.

When Rigoberto and Luis took over the family operation in the late '90s, they took on the labor-intensive job of pivoting the farms to organic production. Shortly after taking over, they purchased the land that is now Finca La Esperanza and expanded their organic coffee production.

They've done major renovations to the farms during the past 30 years of ownership and management, planting new, exotic varieties throughout the 52 producing hectares of Potosi Farm. At Las Margaritas they produce classic Colombian varieties like Caturra, Colombia, and Tabi. As well as beautiful exotics such as Geisha, Sidra, San Juan, Mandela, SL28 and more.

Every coffee cherry begins its journey with a careful selection, ensuring only those at peak ripeness make the cut. These gems are delicately floated to remove lighter, less flavorful beans. Before fermentation, their sweetness is measured to guarantee perfection. After selection, they are put into water to remove the floating cherries. Then, they are fermented in open tanks for 48 hours, with the Brix levels checked before the fermentation process

The cherries are dried in mechanical dryers over 8 to 12 days, maintaining a consistent temperature of 38°C. Once dried, the cherries are stored in climate-controlled warehouses, keeping the temperature between 18°C and 19°C to preserve their quality

Recommendation:
Rest time : 2-3 weeks
Filter: 90-92c, 1:15-1:16
Espresso: 1:2.2-2.5

Text from Rogue Wave Coffee's listing.