Venezuela La Curva

This coffee comes to us from exporter Caracas Coffee Trade and producer Luis Andrade. His farm, Finca La Curva, is situated in El Valle De Mocoties in the Andes mountains of northwestern Venezuela. Located just north of the city of Merida, this high elevation plateau is lush with rich soil and a tropical monsoon climate.

A third-generation family coffee estate, Finca La Curva employs numerous workers from the local community. It also provides classes on financial management, sustainable cultivation, and different types of processing to over 700 local small producers. The estate has numerous nurseries for growing their coffee seedlings and experimenting with different cultivars. It was one of the first farms to introduce coffee rust resistant varietals in Venezuela.

This coffee was picked when ripe and sorted for quality. In anaerobic processing, coffee cherries are sealed in an air-tight container to ferment. This creates a low-oxygen environment that encourages the growth of microbes and enhances the coffee's flavors. After fermentation, the cherries were de-pulped and thoroughly washed with clean water to remove any remaining mucilage. The coffee was then spread out on patios or raised beds to dry in the sun. The cup is fresh and fruity with notes of Valencia orange, sun gold tomato, sugar snap, and strawberry rhubarb.

Venezuela is currently undergoing a coffee renaissance. A growing community of specialty coffee producers, roasters, and exporters (including Caracas Coffee) are focused on putting Venezuela back on the world map of coffee production.

In the 19th and early 20th century, Venezuela had a "golden age" of coffee production, competing with the export levels of its neighbors Colombia and Brazil. Around100 years ago, the Venezuelan government shifted its focus to oil and mining and coffee production started to rapidly decline. The economy quickly became dependent on these two industries, leading to ongoing conflicts and financial crises.

Over the past decade, a growing number of young Venezuelans have begun to change the tide. Along with emphasizing quality, these producers are experimenting with different post-harvest processes. Through innovation, dedication, and increased training opportunities, the Venezuelan specialty coffee market is slowly but steadily growing.

Luis Estava of Caracas Coffee Trade is at the forefront of this movement. Rooted in the heart of Venezuela, Caracas Coffee is dedicated to bringing sustainable, ethical, and delicious Venezuelan coffee to the world. Estava works only with farmers who practice environmentally conscious cultivation methods and exports only exceptional quality coffee.