Producer: Julian Holguin Ramos Farm: Inmaculada Coffee Farm Location: Pichindé, Valle del Cauca Variety: Sudan Rume Process: Natural Altitude: 1,7000 - 1,900 masl Fermentation ▪▪▪▫▫ Sweetness ▪▪▪▪▫ Acidity ▪▪▪▪▫ Roast ▪▪▫▫▫ 100 years in the agro-industry, initially in the sugarcane and palm sector, the Holguín-Ramos family ventured into specialty coffee in 2010. They saw specialty coffee as a way to give back more to the community in Pichindé, Cali, as their coffee plantation and processing facility would create more materially rewarding job opportunities and eventually spur increased economic activity in the area. The Inmaculada Coffee Farms are situated in the heart of the Andes, surrounded by the Farallones Natural Park, at a maximum altitude of 2000 masl. Even the most delicate and demanding coffee trees thrive in this protected natural sanctuary because of its unparalleled environmental conditions, which include lower air temperatures, higher soil moisture, the right amount and intensity of sunlight, as well as oceanic winds from the Pacific, said to blow all afternoon, refreshing the plantation. To remain in harmony with the beauty of the natural environment, Inmaculada implements an agroforestry system, where they intercrop coffee plants with shade trees. The shade trees bear fruits favored by birds and provide organic material that helps keep the land nutrient-rich and fertile. This interaction of agriculture with the surrounding greenery encourages biodiversity, increases carbon storage, and facilitates nutrient cycling — all in all, sustainably supporting productivity while allowing nature to regenerate. Inmaculada Coffee Farms started with one 5 hectare-farm and have since grown to five farms encompassing 34 hectares, where only rare varieties like Eugenoides, Geisha, Sudan Rume, and Laurina are grown. To expand the benefits of the Inmaculada Coffee Farms’ business model and contribute to tangibly improving the quality of life of more families and communities beyond their immediate home base, the family established the Fellows’ Farms Program. Fellows’ Farms is a platform for Cauca coffee farmers who cultivate and harvest high-quality coffee cherries to be relieved of what was turning out to be untenable costs of post-harvest processing for them. Sudan Rume is a rare Arabica variety first recorded in 1941 on the Boma Plateau in present-day South Sudan. Economic botanist A.S. Thomas described coffee trees growing naturally in forested areas near the village of Rume. These plants were shorter than those found in nearby Barbuk, with green-tipped leaves and bold beans. Importantly, Thomas observed little sign of coffee leaf rust on these trees, a trait that made them valuable for breeding and research. Seeds collected from Sudan Rume and Barbuk were distributed to research stations in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. These collections became the basis of the cultivars now known as Sudan Rume and Barbuk Sudan. Today, Sudan Rume is preserved in international germplasm banks and cultivated only in small quantities worldwide, valued for its rarity and genetic distinctiveness. Inmaculada Coffee Farms has helped elevate the variety onto the world stage when Australian competitor Sasa Sestic won the 2015 World Barista Championship using an Inmaculada Sudan Rume.