This lot was grown and processed by 8 independent farmers who own small farms located around the town of Aponte, in north-western Nariño, Colombia. The town is extremely remote and hard to reach, found deep inside Juanambú Canyon and surrounded by steep, rugged mountains. The town experiences a cool climate and high winds year-round and sits on very fertile soil, thanks to the nutrient-rich ash constantly shed by nearby Galeras Volcano.

Aponte’s unique micro-climate, with warm winds and year-round cool temperatures, contributes to the success of ‘honey’ processing in the area. The producers in the region have become expert in this processing method, resulting in clean, sweet and fragrant coffees that are distinct to the town.

The farms in the region are tiny – averaging just 1 hectare – and are some of the highest situated coffee farms in Colombia, with most sitting above 2,000 meters above sea level. The producers who grow coffee around Aponte are pioneers in developing farming and processing techniques that successfully produce coffee in such unique conditions.

Aponte is home to the Inga people, an group who are historically related to the Inca and indigenous to parts of Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. The town was once called Janguana and was the northernmost point of the Incan empire. Visiting Aponte is a unique experience; the town operates as an indigenous reserve, independent from the Colombian government. On the streets, people continue to wear traditional garments (‘cusma’ for men and ‘pacha’ for women) and to speak to each other in the local Inga language, a dialect derived from Quechua (the pre-colonial language of the Inca people from the Andean Mountains).