STORY TIME - CECILIA HOYAS | COLOMBIA
STORY TIME - CECILIA HOYAS
El Carmen Community, Pitalito, Huila, Colombia
Cecilia Hoyos is a smallholder coffee producer from the El Carmen community in Pitalito, Huila, one of Colombia’s most celebrated coffee-growing regions. Like many farmers in the area, Cecilia typically contributes her harvest to community lots. However, exceptional coffees are carefully identified and separated, this lot being one of them, selected for its outstanding quality.
Her work represents a broader movement within Colombian coffee: a shift from anonymous, bulk production toward traceable, higher-value coffees. As a woman producer, Cecilia is also part of a growing number of female farmers gaining recognition in an industry where they have historically been underrepresented.
In El Carmen, producers work collaboratively to improve both quality and sustainability. Shared infrastructure, such as raised drying beds and quality control facilities allows farmers to refine their processing techniques and achieve consistent, high standards.
Ripe cherries are hand-picked, washed, and slowly dried on raised beds. This careful approach preserves clarity and enhances the bright, high-altitude character that Huila coffees are known for.
In the Cup
Expect a sweet, balanced, and approachable profile:
- Notes of caramel and chocolate honeycomb
- Gentle fruit sweetness
- Soft, rounded acidity
A versatile coffee that shines as a comforting daily brew, equally at home as espresso or paired with milk.