Producer María Bercelia Martínez
Minimum resting period Filter 7 days | Espresso 14 days
Brew For all brew methods
María and her husband José have worked in agriculture for the majority of their lives.
Los AngelesMaría Bercelia Martínez
We are excited to work with María Bercelia Martínez and her project Finca Los Angeles for the first time. This farm is located just outside the town of Acevedo, in Southern Huila, not far from the big coffee industry centre of Pitalito. María has a long history in agriculture, having grown up in Nariño on a cattle farm. She moved with her husband to Putomayo in the far south of Colombia, and opened a hardware store. However, this was a time of great turmoil in the region, one of the worst affected by guerrilla violence and coca production. The couple were displaced from their house by the violence, and moved to Pitalito to start fresh. They eventually purchased the land that became Los Angeles in 2010, as they had heard that coffee production could be a profitable business. María and José had very little experience with coffee, so were initially aided by the Colombian coffee producing union, the FNC, and now grow coffee on 13.5 hectares. Although mainly planted with Colombia and Caturra, they also have small plots of Pink Bourbon and Geisha. This lot is an example of the former, depulped, fermented for 36 hours and washed. This rather long fermentation leads to a soft and complex fruit profile, with a crisp citrus acidity.


They previously lived in Putomayo, and were heavily affected by the outbreak of violence between guerrilla and paramilitary forces in the region in 1999.
About the regionHuila
Coffees grown in Huila are highly prized in our industry, for several reasons. The mountainous terrain provides high altitudes and varying microclimates, leading to a diverse flavour spectrum throughout the area. Diversity is also encouraged by the large number of small farms, with those averaging between 1 and 3 hectares producing much of the coffee in the region. The small farms here mainly have their own processing facilities, both wet mills, where the coffee is pulped, fermented and washed, and space for drying the coffees. Huila is particularly exciting for speciality coffee due to its plentiful high altitude. The Colombian Andes split into 3 distinct ranges here, the eastern, western and central ‘cordilleras’. This high altitude leads to large day-night swings in temperature, which slows cherry maturation. Further down into the valley between the two cordilleras, lies a large area of jungle. Weather systems carry cool, moist air from the jungle up into the coffee growing lands, further lengthening the cherry maturation. All this leads to very intense, sweet and complex cups, but also to one of the main challenges of producing coffee in this region. The cool temperatures and high level of humidity mean that drying coffee can be a very difficult prospect here.
Technical Data
-
Producer
-
Region
-
Altitude
-
Varietal
-
Process
-
Harvest
Process Method
The washed process involves completely removing both the cherry and the mucilage from the outside of the parchment with the use of friction, fermentation and water. After being harvested, the coffee cherry is then sliced open by either a metal or a sharp plastic blade. The two seeds (also known as beans) are pushed out of the cherry, which leaves the seed with mucilage as their outermost layer. It is essential in the washed process that all mucilage is removed from the seed which leaves only the flavour that developed in the cell structure of the seed prior to processing.
Brew Guides
Guidelines
Equipment
Opening Hours
East Village Bakery - NYC
152 2nd Ave
10003 New York
United States
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 7:00 - 18:00
Sat - Sun: 8:00 - 18:00
Soho - NYC
284 Lafayette St
10012 New York
United States
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 7:00 - 18:00
Sat - Sun: 8:00 - 18:00
Graven - Aarhus
Graven 20
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat: 8:00 - 18:00
Sun: 9:00 - 17:00
Borggade Bakery - Aarhus
Borggade 4F
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sun: 7:00 - 17:00
Møntergade - Copenhagen
Møntergade 3A
1116 Copenhagen K
Denmark
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 18:00
Sat - Sun: 9:00 - 17:00
Roastery - Copenhagen
Marguerite Vibys Plads 8
2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 17:00
Sat - Sun: Closed
Talad Noi - Bangkok
813 Charoen Krung Rd, Talat Noi, Samphanthawong
10100 Bangkok
Thailand
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 17:00
Sat - Sun: 8:00 - 17:00
Ari - Bangkok
304 Phahonyothin Road, Samsen Nai, Phaya Thai
10400 Bangkok
Thailand
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 08:00 - 17:00
Sat - Sun: 08:00 - 17:00
152 2nd Ave
10003 New York
United States
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 7:00 - 18:00
Sat - Sun: 8:00 - 18:00
284 Lafayette St
10012 New York
United States
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 7:00 - 18:00
Sat - Sun: 8:00 - 18:00
Graven 20
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat: 8:00 - 18:00
Sun: 9:00 - 17:00
Borggade 4F
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sun: 7:00 - 17:00
Møntergade 3A
1116 Copenhagen K
Denmark
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 18:00
Sat - Sun: 9:00 - 17:00
Marguerite Vibys Plads 8
2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 17:00
Sat - Sun: Closed
813 Charoen Krung Rd, Talat Noi, Samphanthawong
10100 Bangkok
Thailand
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 17:00
Sat - Sun: 8:00 - 17:00
304 Phahonyothin Road, Samsen Nai, Phaya Thai
10400 Bangkok
Thailand
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 08:00 - 17:00
Sat - Sun: 08:00 - 17:00
Contact
Webshop
Marguerite Vibys Pl. 1
2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
Have a question?
Please write us in the chat.
Wholesale
Marguerite Vibys Pl. 1
2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
Have a question?
Marguerite Vibys Pl. 1
2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
Have a question?
Please write us in the chat.
Marguerite Vibys Pl. 1
2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
Have a question?