Rosa’s story in coffee begins when she was a young girl. Mr. Cifuentes, Rosa’s father, taught her the basics of coffee growing and prepared her for a life in coffee. “My father was a coffee grower. As a kid, I used to help him on the farm.”, Rosa explains.
Rosa follows her father’s footsteps and starts her farm; La Fortuna (Cauca, Colombia). She builds her experience and, in the meantime, becomes a mother of three. She performs these two jobs passionately. “I hope one day that my children will return to the farm and stay to be the next generation of coffee growers.” Rosa continues.
Rosa is keen on picking ripened cherries during harvest months; April – May. She depulps the coffee on the farm and then lets it ferment in a tank for 24 hours straight. “Together with the Cooperative, I have changed some processes at La Fortuna. I let the coffee ferment for a longer time, for instance. This has helped me a lot to improve coffee quality.”
After fermentation, she dries the parchment under a self-made parabolic drying bed with a plastic cover. She makes sure that the parabolic dryers have some ventilation.
