There’s coffee, and then there’s coffee shaped by altitude, resilience, and time.

High in the Planadas region of Tolima, where the air is thin and the mountains stand like silent witnesses, coffee is not just cultivated—it is endured. The soil is volcanic, the altitude is extreme, the climate is relentless. Yet from these conditions comes something remarkable: a coffee that carries the quiet strength of those who grow it.

This is Planadas Selección—grown by 1,042 smallholder organic farmers, each with a story rooted deep in these lands. Elevations reach 2,050 metres, where the cool air slows ripening, intensifying complexity. The varieties—Colombia, Castillo, and Caturra—are cultivated organically, not as a marketing badge, but as an inheritance, a practice passed down through generations. No shortcuts, no compromise.

For decades, these slopes were hidden from the world. Planadas was where the FARC guerrilla movement took root, severing farmers from trade, resources, and opportunity. They grew exceptional coffee—coffee that no one would taste. But history does not define the land, and it does not define those who call it home. The mountains remember. The soil never forgets. And the farmers refused to be erased.

The turning point came with Asociación de Productores Ecológicos de Planadas (ASOPEP)—who didn't just rebuild, but reimagined. They fought with knowledge, with precision, with patience. Through rigorous quality control, education, and a relentless devotion to craft, they transformed an isolated region into one of Colombia’s most compelling coffee origins. They turned survival into mastery.

Their washed process is meticulous: hand-picked cherries are de-pulped, fermented just long enough to break down the mucilage, then washed clean and slow-dried in parabolic greenhouses for up to 18 days. A process not rushed, not forced, but guided—allowing the coffee to reach its fullest expression.

ASOPEP is more than a cooperative; it is an idea. A quiet revolution in the foothills of the Andes. They train the next generation in cupping, quality control, and barista skills, ensuring that Planadas’ legacy is not just in its land, but in its people. Planadas fought for this coffee. The farmers refused to be erased. The mountains remember. The soil never forgets. And now, it’s your turn to taste history.

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