Colombia - Finca Las Mercedes - Edgar Heladio Ossa - Washed

This is our second offering from Edgar Heladio Ossa and Finca Las Mercedes, but this one feels particularly personal. I had the opportunity to visit Edgar during my trip through Colombia, and after spending time on different farms, something became increasingly clear: no two coffee farms solve the same problems in quite the same way.

One producer might build a washing station designed around conserving water. Another finds an ingenious use for something most of us would simply call waste. At Las Mercedes, Edgar collects coffee cherry pulp from washed coffee production and uses a self-built system to capture the biogas released as that organic material ferments, redirecting it for use in the family kitchen. It’s one part of a much broader approach to stewardship on the farm, where coffee pulp and food waste become fertilizer, recyclables are carefully collected, and native vegetation helps protect the property’s natural springs.

Seeing these ideas firsthand changed the way I think about sustainability in coffee. There isn’t necessarily one answer or one piece of technology that makes a farm “sustainable.” What struck me was the ingenuity—the way each farmer looks at their particular land, resources, challenges, and community and develops solutions that make sense there.

And then, of course, there’s the coffee.

Edgar’s washed Colombia variety, grown in Huila, gives us a beautifully composed cup of red grape, dried date, and black tea.

This is our second time offering Edgar’s coffee, and we hope it represents the beginning of a long relationship. Visiting Las Mercedes gave us a deeper appreciation not only for what Edgar produces, but for how he thinks about the farm that produces it.

Read Danny’s full story from the farm: Every Farm Has Its Own Answer.