Finca La Lucha

Finca La Lucha is our latest coffee offering from Colombia, following hot on the heels of La Gallineta. Both coffees originate from the Antoquia region of the country, an area regarded as the birthplace of coffee production in Colombia. The farm is owned by Berta Lucia Buitrago, having been passed down by her parents who originally purchased the farm.

You can purchase this coffee from our online store here.

Finca La Lucha is a 7.5 hectare farm high in the hills of Antioquia in Colombia. The family work hard to ensure their farm yields only the best quality coffees. ‘La Lucha’ means struggle and reflects the family’s struggle to work on the farm, to make it profitable and self-sustaining. The farm is very much family run though a few additional workers are employed at different times of the year, particularly at harvest time.

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The farm is planted with Colombia and Castillo trees, the latter being a varietal new to us at Carvetii. Developed as a rust-resistant[1] varietal by the Colombian Coffee Federation (FNC), Castillo[2] now forms the bulk of the coffee plantation at La Lucha, and there are a further 4,000 baby trees in their nursery.

All coffee on the farm is selectively harvested by hand and then pulped and fermented for between 24 and 48 hours, with cochadas (different pickings) from different days being mixed. Each day’s picking is pulped separately, of course; however, the coffee picked on the second day is added to the first after 24 hours fermentation and then left to ferment in the tanks for a further 24 hours. Through this method of fermentation, the second batch raises the ph level of the fermentation tank, permitting longer fermentation times without the acetic acid produced by bacteria at a lower ph level. This process is common among small farmers throughout Antioquia and Huila, whose farms are so small that one day’s picking is often not sufficient to make up an entire lot. While a consequence of circumstances, when done properly and with attention to detail, the process results in a distinctive, even and controlled fruit-forward cup.

After fermentation, coffee is washed several times using clean, cool water and is then delivered to dry on the farm’s concrete patios. There is no sorting during the pulping and washing processes, but once the coffee is dried, it is hand sorted to remove any beans with broca damage and/or other damaged and lower sized beans.

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Berta is a passionate member of her local growers’ cooperative – the Cooperativa de Caficultores de Andes, through whom all her coffee is commerialised. Cooperativa de Caficultores de Andes (Cooperandes), a Colombian cooperative that works in communities across Antioquia to promote and support the production of high quality coffee in the region, has contributed greatly to Berta’s development as a producer of speciality coffee.

This coffee was sourced by Mercanta, a coffee broker based in London and with whom we have a very close working relationship.

Here are our thoughts on this coffee:

Acidity: expect a brightness at the front end, softening nicely as the coffee cools

Sweetness: that of soft brown sugar

Body: the coffee has a light mouthfeel

Flavours: we found flavours of peach with hints of summer fruit

Overall this is a very smooth and easy drinking coffee with a long finish

In brief:

Farm: Finca La Lucha

Varietal(s): Castillo & small amounts of Colombia

Processing: Fully washed & sun dried on patios

Altitude: 1,700 metres above sea level

Owner: Berta Lucia Buitrago

Town: Verdún, Jardín

Region: Antioquia

Country: Colombia

Total size of farm: 7.5 hectares

Area under coffee: 7.5 hectares


  1. Leaf rust (roya) is a fungus which affects coffee plants, causing orange lesions on the leaves. This inhibits photosynthesis and eventually the leaves drop off.  ↩
  2. There is a really interesting article about the introduction of the Castillo varietal here.  ↩