Colombia | Gildardo Ortega Espresso

Gildardo Ortega owns and manages Los Brisas, a 1.5-hectare farm located at 1,950 MASL in Sevilla, San Agustín. This lot is a separation of Caturra, harvested in November and December 2024. This harvest is showing great balance and sweetness, with an approachable flavor profile of dried yellow fruit like mango, panela-like sweetness, and creamy milk chocolate.

Gildardo’s life in coffee began at the age of 14, when his mother, Rose, gave him a small plot of land with 800 Caturra trees. For many years, he couldn’t invest in his own processing equipment, so he worked as a picker in other regions. That changed when he met Esnaider Ortega and his family, who taught him about post-harvest processing and picking techniques. At the time, Gildardo was at risk of losing his farm—but with a small loan from the Ortega Gomez family, he was able to focus on his own production. In that first season, he produced the best Caturra we have tasted. That was in 2021- his first international sale, and our first year buying his coffee. We’ve been buying his entire harvest ever since, and always look forward to sharing it.

Cherries are picked at peak ripeness and left to ferment in a wooden hopper for 24 hours. The cherries are then depulped and fermented in a tiled tank for 35 hours. The seeds are then rinsed four times to remove all the mucilage and then dried on raised beds for 20 days.