Colombia El Silencio

Robinson Rivera has been a coffee producer for over 20 years in the municipality of Piendamó, located in Cauca, Colombia. His farm, El Silencio, spans 8 hectares total, with 6 hectares dedicated to coffee cultivation and 2 hectares preserved as natural forest. On this land, Rivera produces immaculate Castillo, Pink Bourbon, Chiroso, Colombia, and Caturra varieties. To ensure pristine clarity in the cup, perfectly ripe cherries are harvested and rested for 12 hours, depulped, and then transferred to sealed tanks for a 12-hour anaerobic fermentation. Following fermentation, the coffee parchment is gently washed twice to remove the mucilage and slowly dried in a parabolic solar dryer. Beyond his work as a producer, Rivera is a dedicated community organizer. Over a decade ago, he established the Asociación de Caficultores del Centro del Cauca por la Paz (ACC), which currently brings together 77 associates with farms averaging 1.5 hectares at elevations between 1,700 and 2,100 meters above sea level. Additionally, Rivera and his brother constructed a small wet mill plant on their property to process washed, honey, and natural coffees.