El Puente Washed – Colombia

Origin Story

The El Puente processing facility is located in Fundador township, Palestina, Huila, Colombia. “El Puente” translates to “the bridge”, named not only for the footbridge that spans a nearby river, but more importantly representing the connection that the processing facility creates between local smallholder producers and the global specialty coffee industry. The facility is just a 20 minute drive to the coffee centers of Pitalito and downtown Palestina, and is strategically located in an area with a high density of coffee to allow easy delivery of cherries by local coffee producers.

This coffee underwent Washed processing, and was processed by contributing producers at their farms. When purchasing Washed coffee from allied producers, El Puente pays a premium for cup quality and provides feedback on ways in which producers can improve their future lots.

Processing begins with sorting freshly harvested cherries via floatation. Sorted cherries are then depulped and washed before being fermented for 24–32 hours. The fermented coffee is then dried for 20–25 days before being taken to El Puente for milling, packaging, and export.