Colombia Boyaca Playa Rica Maria Aurora Suarez Castillo GrainPro

Coffee Background

Looking for an award-winning coffee from an exquisite growing region and grown by a next generation woman producer? María Aurora Suarez Castillo made her debut in the Aroma de Libertad Boyacá completion this year where her coffee earned second place. Especially impressive considering she just started processing coffee from a farm she inherited from her father called Playa Rica in the department of Boyacá. As Colombian coffee growing regions go, Boyacá might not be one that you have heard before, but it is one of the first places coffee was cultivated in Colombia. Today there are more than 10,000 small producers in the Boyacá department cultivating coffee on farms that average just a few acres in size. Playa Rica is small enough for Maria and her family to manage their own micro-mill where meticulous care in cherry selection, depulping, fermenting, and drying coffee takes place. Maria is also benefiting from Boyacá’s long history working directly with the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC), dating back to its creation in 1927. In addition to marketing coffee internationally, the FNC provides producers with financing, training, and technical assistance to improve coffee quality. The FNC also strives to improve the quality of life for coffee producers and their families through projects promoting income diversification and education.