Colombia Augusto Ortega Sidra

Producer: Augusto Ortega
Farm: Finca Asturias
Region: San Agustín, Huila, Colombia
Variety: Sidra
Process:Washed
Altitude: 1,680 masl
Tasting Notes: Complex and floral, with notes of rose, raspberry, and elderflower. Bright, balanced, and lingering.
Importer: Semilla

About the Producer

Augusto Ortega founded Finca Asturias in 1985, becoming one of the first growers in his region to plant coffee at all; arid soils and landslides made it a hard place to start, and it hasn't gotten easier since: rising temperatures have forced more chemical treatment onto the land over the years, and with it, more pressure on quality.

He sold his coffee en verde until 2000, when he joined the Los Naranjos Association and moved into specialty production, a shift that connected him with Cafe Imports. Recently he left that relationship behind, looking for something steadier and more direct. He's since become a leader not just among his own family but across San Agustín through Monkaaba; much of what Semilla has built there traces back to the trust producers place in him, and to how quickly he took to encouraging the growers around him to get involved.

This Sidra is a washed lot, picked at peak ripeness every 21 days, floated and hand-sorted to remove defects, then rested on raised beds to drain before depulping. It dry-ferments for an average of 36 hours in oak tanks, is rinsed four times, drains a further 10 hours in plastic bags, and finishes with 20 days drying in the shade: a slow, deliberate process behind a cup that's floral, complex, and unmistakably his.

"I hope to continue forward tackling the challenges posed to coffee growers by planting new varieties and to be in union with other coffee growers so we can improve ourselves through our own good advice and counsel." — Augusto Ortega

About Semilla & Monkaaba

Augusto is a member of Monkaaba, a smallholder empowerment initiative in San Agustín founded by Esnaider Ortega Gómez. Monkaaba's mission is to build a more equitable coffee supply chain, not just by connecting producers to better markets, but by investing in their knowledge and confidence as growers. Through weekly cupping sessions open to all, Esnaider has created a space where producers of every age and experience level can evaluate their own coffees, understand quality, and grow alongside one another.

Semilla partners closely with Monkaaba because this kind of community-rooted work reflects exactly what sourcing should look like: real relationships, shared knowledge, and producers who are active participants, not instruments, in the supply chain.

This summary is based on information provided by our partner and green bean supplier, Semilla.