Here is a divine coffee from a heavenly place. Mesa de Los Santos (Table of the Saints), a coffee estate in the department of Santander that touches some impressive elevations invoking our spiritual play on words. But hyperbole aside, this slice of the Andes mountain range has a naturally biodiverse environment perfect for cultivating organic coffee and Mesa de los Santos has an impressive history of producing some of the best organic coffee. Established in 1840, the 800-acre estate was named La Mesa de Los Santos by the founder Telmo J. Diaz. Telmo managed the estate with generosity, integrity, and the search for perfection. The estate’s heritage has been passed down through the family to Telmo’s grandson Oswaldo Acevedo who adheres to his grandfather’s life-long principles. Royal has had a long history with Oswaldo and La Mesa de Los Santos, which started over a decade ago with a collaborative fair compensation program designed to pay wages well above the Colombian minimum salary to the workers who cultivate and process the coffee at La Mesa de Los Santos. Because of the program, workers and their families have also benefited from free healthcare, education stipends for children, insurance coverage for temporary or permanent work disability, and a pension fund to provide retirement benefits. Oswaldo also continues his dedicated organic and sustainable farming practices to protect the health of the environment and the workers. Organic fertilizer is produced on the estate with compost originating from coffee pulp and chicken manure. Coffee is cultivated under a canopy of guamo, carbonero, and other native shade trees, which makes the estate a bird-friendly haven and natural fit for certification as a Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC). During the harvest a great deal of care and focus is dedicated to picking the best quality cherries, which are delivered to the wet mill located at the estate where the coffee is depulped, fermented, washed, and gently pre-dried on patios and then precisely dried to 11% in mechanical driers. With immaculate traceability and variety separation, Royal is privileged to offer 10 different varieties to select from.
