Three days with the El Mirador producers

The road from Neiva to La Plata takes five hours and climbs most of the way. Finca El Mirador sits at the top of it, on a slope so steep that pickers tie their baskets to their waists.

We have bought from Lucía and Andrés for four harvests now. This year we went to talk about something less romantic than terroir: forward contracts, and how to make sure a good year at the farm is also a good year for the people who pick.

Fermentation, slowly

The Pardos ferment for 36 hours in shaded concrete tanks, much longer than their neighbours. It is the main reason their coffee tastes so clean, and the main reason we keep coming back.