FREDI HUMBERTO ORTEGA MUÑOZ / Colombia

Country: Colombia
Producer: Freddy Humberto Ortega Muñoz
Farm: El Bosquecito
Region: Huila > San Agustín
Variety: Pink Bourbon
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1,990 masl
Harvest: 2025

After graduating from school in 2005, Freddy Humberto Ortega Muñoz began producing coffee when his father gifted him a small plot planted with around 500 young trees. Starting from this base in the hamlet of Sevilla in San Agustín, Huila, he raised seedlings in his own nursery and, over the next 20 years, expanded his production to manage around 4,500–5,000 trees across several plots. Today he owns and runs El Bosquecito, a 1.5-hectare farm situated at 1,900 meters above sea level, with 1 hectare dedicated to coffee. Freddy lives and works on the farm together with his father and sister, and during the harvest season they are joined by neighboring families.

El Bosquecito maintains a diverse mix of varieties: 1,300 trees of Castillo (a rust-resistant hybrid), 1,700 trees of Bourbon Rosado (a pink-fruited Bourbon mutation), 1,000 trees of Bourbon Sidra planted in 2024, plus around 1,000 mixed-variety trees. Across the farm, 40–60 shade trees provide filtered light for the coffee: mainly nitrogen-fixing legumes such as guamo serindo (Inga nobilis) and cachimbo or camburo (Erythrina poeppigiana), planted along the boundaries and throughout the plots. During renovation periods, when older coffee trees are uprooted and replaced, Freddy plants maize, arracacha (an Andean root crop), and cassava for home consumption, securing food for the family while the new coffee trees take 2–3 years to reach production.

El Bosquecito does not have its own independent water source for processing, but it forms part of a 12-hectare family-owned property that includes a stream and a natural spring. The spring is protected within about 0.5 hectares of conserved forest. Freddy’s recent plantings have all been established on former pastureland, so no native forest has been cleared. Since December 2020, there has been no deforestation on the property, aligning the farm with sustainability standards that require forest conservation.

Freddy fertilizes the coffee four times per year and applies foliar sprays when needed. To control the coffee berry borer (broca), one of coffee’s most damaging pests, he uses biological controls based on naturally occurring fungi. Annual production varies with climate, but in 2024 he produced around 2,000 kilograms of parchment coffee (dried coffee in parchment).

Only fully ripe cherries are harvested. After picking, the cherries are rested for about 12 hours before being depulped. The mucilage-covered coffee is then fermented in tanks for roughly 36 hours to develop flavor. After fermentation, the coffee is thoroughly washed, drained for around 12 hours, and then moved to the drying phase.

Drying takes place on raised beds under a plastic roof. The transparent roof protects the coffee from rain and harsh direct sunlight while still allowing light and airflow. During the first few days, Freddy turns the coffee more than five times a day; later, he continues to stir it three to four times daily to ensure even drying. Depending on the weather, drying takes between 8 and 15 days. During peak harvest, to avoid overcrowding the drying beds and compromising quality, part of the harvest is sold to a local wet mill.

After drying, the coffee is rested in bags for 8–15 days. This resting period allows moisture to stabilize within the beans, helping to preserve quality during storage and transport. In the cool climate at 1,900 meters, Freddy aims for a final moisture content of around 10%.

Freddy is meticulous about cleanliness in the processing area. The depulper is washed immediately after use, and the fermentation tanks are cleaned after each batch to prevent contamination or off-flavors from previous lots. This close attention to hygiene and process control is a key reason his coffees are so clean, sweet, and expressive.

The farm is run by three family members — Freddy, his father, and his sister. During harvest, they hire 3–5 additional workers from nearby communities. Workers are provided with meals and return to their homes in the evening. Freddy is enrolled in Colombia’s social security system and is committed to maintaining fair and safe working conditions.

Freddy is looking for partners who value quality and are willing to build long-term relationships. Through his collaboration with Fairfield Trading, he seeks to connect with roasters who understand and appreciate the careful work done at origin. From variety selection and farm management to environmental stewardship and processing, Freddy is consistently focused on quality, producing washed coffees that are clean, structured, and full of clarity.