Jairo Arcila is a third-generation coffee grower from Quindío, Colombia, who has dedicated his life to coffee. After more than 40 years working as a mill manager for one of Colombia’s largest exporters, he retired in 2019 to focus fully on his own farms.

His journey began in 1987 with Finca La Esmeralda, where he planted his first Caturra lot, and over time, he expanded to several farms, including Villarazo, Mazatlán, Santa Mónica, Maracay, and Buenos Aires. With the support of his sons, Carlos and Felipe (co-founders of Cofinet), Jairo has refined his approach to specialty coffee, improving quality through better picking, sorting, and processing. Today, he also cultivates varieties such as Pink Bourbon, Java, Papayo, and Gesha. Beyond coffee, his farms grow fruits like mandarin, orange, plantain, and banana, and provide important seasonal jobs for the local community.

For this lot, Caturra cherries are selectively hand-picked at peak ripeness and undergo rigorous sorting, including flotation to remove defects. The cherries are then processed at La Pradera, where they ferment aerobically for 45 hours to develop depth and complexity. Drying takes place on raised beds or in controlled drying stations for 8-12 days, with careful monitoring to reach an ideal moisture content. The result is a vibrant, fruit-forward coffee with balanced sweetness, structure, and clarity.