Christmas Brews – Week #1
Available until Wednesday 10th December 

Victor’s story begins far from the coffee fields of San Adolfo. Born and raised in Pitalito, Victor studied law in Bogotá and worked as a lawyer until 2020, when the pandemic abruptly canceled his plans to move to Sweden for a postgraduate degree. Victor returned home to Huila—back to his family’s farm, Finca Buenos Aires. Though coffee farming began as a temporary refuge, it quickly became a full-time calling.

The farm, originally purchased by Victor’s grandfather, Enrique Motta, in 1970, has always remained in the family. Victor’s uncle, Jairo, a trained agronomist and local community leader, manages the property and is an important part of Victor’s growing passion for coffee. When Victor returned home, Jairo offered him space to experiment with new processes and varieties, giving him the freedom to transform the family farm into a centre for specialty coffee- and allowing him to express himself in a new way. Victor is very grateful.

Today, Finca Buenos Aires spans 13 hectares, nine of which are dedicated to coffee. The farm is home to over 45,000 trees of castillo, colombia, gesha, caturra chiroso, sidra, arara, maragesha, and parainema, shaded by more than 5,000 pink cedar trees and banana plants. Victor and his small team also grow plantain, cassava, beans, and a family garden for household consumption.

Though Victor’s background isn’t in agriculture, his curiosity and persistence have led him to develop a methodical approach to coffee production. Since 2022, he has studied as a barista, roaster, and cupper through SENA courses, even earning an SCA Intermediate Sensory Analysis certification- a milestone he proudly says excited him, “more than graduating from law school.”

PROCESSING
For this gesha lot, he carefully picks cherries over three days, and mixes the cherries from the last day of picking with the cherries that have begun the fermentation process a day and two earlier. From there, he floats ripe cherries to remove defects, then de-pulps and ferments submerged in water in a sealed container for three days. The coffee is washed twice and dried slowly for 15–20 days, depending on weather conditions.

Victor is continuously experimenting, and adjusting fermentation times to emphasize balance and the character of the variety. For the gesha lot, he keeps fermentations short to preserve floral complexity; for pink bourbon, he extends fermentation to five days to deepen sweetness. He also uses pH meters to monitor fermentation and ensure consistency.

PRICING TRANSPARENCY
We purchase parchment coffee directly from Victor, transferring pesos to his account at the time of delivery. We paid 7,000,000 pesos per carga (125 kg of parchment) for his gesha lot. To contextualize this rate, the daily market price can be found here:.