La Marianela coffee farm
With all three generations of the Dorronsoro family on our last visit.
La MARIANELA COFFEE FARM, COLOMBIA
Our partnership with ethical coffee farm La Marianela in Colombia is one of our longest-standing partnerships. We started buying their coffee in 2013. Like us, they are a family run business - they're comprised of father and son team Hernan and Pablo Dorronsoro. Also like us, they are driven by passion, a belief in sharing knowledge and a mission to make coffee better.
Over the years, they've provided the beans for some of our most loved Extract coffees including Original, Rocket, Funka, Sugarcane Decaf and Half Speed.
MEET THE DORRONSORO FAMILY
We've been visiting La Marianela for many years, to learn the story of the farm, understand the processes the coffee goes through and to build our partnership with the farmers.
When we visit, we are greeted not as business partners or customers but as friends.
We've even hosted Pablo and Valentina Dorronsoro here in Bristol, to show them how their coffee is roasted and served to customers in the UK.
Dave and Pablo outside the farmhouse built by Pablo's grandfather
Some of the microlots which La Marianela are growing for Extract
ETHICAL COFFEE
Ethical coffee farms are run in careful balance with nature. Areas of the La Marianela farm are treated as a nature reserve and the farm is home to lots of Colombian wildlife.
La Marinaela makes its own compost from discarded coffee cherries and recycles water to protect natural resources. Workers are well cared for, paid wages above the average, and there is housing provision for some of the permanent staff.
INNOVATIVE COFFEE FARMING
Both La Marinaela and Extract Coffee Roasters are passionate about innovative coffee farming. Together we have worked on experimental lots, varietals, new processing methods, a 100% traceable decaf and the blending of three of La Marianela's coffees to create our low-caffeine espresso, Half Speed.
The returns from these projects are reinvested into infrastructure, conservation and more employment in La Marinaela's community. This isn't a quick win. It's a true partnership - one we are truly proud of.
Dave and Pablo in the cupping lab discussing roast profiles
GROWER PROFILE: LA MARIANELA
| Farm: | La Marianela |
| Owners: | Hernan & Pablo Dorronsoro |
| Varietals: | Caturra, Catimor |
| Processes: | Washed, Kiln Dried Natural and EA Decaffeinated |
| Altitude: | 1700-1800m above sea level |
| Region: | Cauca |
| Country: | Colombia |
| Working with Extract since: | 2013 |