Exciting and flavourful. Tasting like candied apples, white grapes and condensed milk. Sweet herbal notes.

Origin: Colombia
Region: La Esperanza, San Agustin, Huila
Producer: José del Mar
Elevation: 1850 - 1900 masl
Variety: Bourbon Pimienta
Process: 90h Fermented, Honey Processed

Roasted for: Filter

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José del Mar Ordoñez, known to everyone as Don Aldemar, has spent much of his life shaped by change, resilience, and a deep connection to the land. Born in the village of Los Robles, Colombia, he grew up on a small family farm where his parents cultivated corn, peas, beans, and kept animals for milk production. Coffee was present, but only in small amounts, as the altitude and climate made it difficult to grow successfully.

After leaving school at a young age, Don Aldemar began working on the family farm and later saw an opportunity to build something of his own. On land owned by his father in the village of Nazareth, he planted 3,000 caturra trees, believing this would become the foundation of his future. But just as the coffee came into production, the farm was sold, leaving him without land and forcing him to start again.

For several years, Don Aldemar travelled between coffee-growing regions, working as a picker during harvest seasons. In 2016, a friend invited him to join a project on a farm in La Esperanza. The land had no coffee planted, only pasture, but Don Aldemar decided to move there and begin from zero. Life on the farm was demanding, with all the work falling on him alone. He planted 3,000 caturra trees, but the farm’s altitude brought new challenges, including die-back disease, which damaged the young shoots and threatened the future of the crop.

Despite these setbacks, he continued investing in the farm. He later planted 2,500 catimor trees, followed by a small trial of pink bourbon. Encouraged by its productivity and cup potential, he expanded the planting further. His curiosity also led him to experiment with processing, including honey-process lots, even though most producers in the Monkaaba group focus exclusively on washed coffees.

Don Aldemar remains the only producer in the group continuing to work with honey processing. This choice carries risk, as local buying points generally purchase washed coffees, and failed alternative processes often have little market value. Through Semilla, he has been able to access a more stable sales channel for these coffees, allowing him to continue refining his work.

This lot also marks the first Bourbon Pimienta harvest within the Monkaaba group. For smallholder producers, access to more exclusive varieties has historically been limited, but local seed banks are now allowing more farmers to diversify their farms and explore new possibilities. For Don Aldemar, this coffee represents years of persistence, experimentation, and hope — and his first opportunity to export a lot abroad under his own name.