Aracely Vitonco says, "I consider myself a blessed person because I was born in a coffee producing family." She has been helping her mother sow and grow coffee plants since Aracely was 8 years old, and she grew up helping her family harvest and care for the cherries during the busy season. After marriage, she and her husband decided to continue farming coffee to support their family, and hopes that her children will continue the family tradition.
Finca Los Mangos is a 2.5-hectare farm, 2 hectares of which are planted in coffee—10,000 trees, a mix of Colombia and Castillo cultivars. The cofee is picked ripe (purple cherries for the Castillo, and bright red Colombia cherries), depulped that same afternoon, and dry fermented for 18 hours. Then it is washed four times and laid out in parabolic dryers for 8–10 days, depending on the weather. Aracely focuses on quality, and describes herself as "very strict" about the picking: Only ripe cherries will do, and she is specific about the visual appearance of ripe Castillo versus ripe Colombia.
For more infromation about coffee production in Colombia, visit our Colombia Origin Page.
