About this coffee

Asociacion de Productores Agropecuarios de Cafe Especial de Planadas (ASOPEP) was founded in 2013. Even as a relatively young organization, ASOPEP is a leader in the region. It has more members than any other associations in Tolima, and it is the only cooperative with complete coffee infrastructure to control the entirety of processing, quality control, transportation, and commercialization.

The general manager, Camilo Enciso, is a regional leader and a great advocate for the Planadas cooperatives. He catalyzed a partner- ship between different Planadas cooperatives, which has led to greater market visibility for the region and an increased presence at trade shows and coffee events around the country. A group of representatives went to Medellin in 2014, which was the first time that several of the young farmers had ever left the region. Enciso has a clear vision of how to position Planadas and maximize the potential of this unique part of Colombia’s coffeelands.

The organization has encountered problems accessing financing, due to the history of violence that once rocked the Tolima region. It created the perception of Tolima as a high-risk place for investment. ASOPEP has worked against this antiquated perception by building a new reputation for coffee in the region based on quality, reliability, and transparency. Their quality control lab tastes and segments lots, and the cuppers include a group of young men and women who are enthusiastic to learn and help their community.

The Millenium program was born as an aid for producers who don’t have the ideal agro-climatic conditions to process and dry their coffees correctly due to their location and harvest periods. ASOPEP, as an ally, developed a protocol to process these coffees, consid- ering different variables, from temperature to Brix degrees and fermentation times, among other factors, resulting in exceptional cups! This particular lot we secured from ASOPEP leans more into berries and a strong papaya presence throughout the cup.