We always say that Arnulfo Leguizamo is the ultimate cafetero role model: He’s not only a producer of some of the finest specialty coffees we’ve tasted from Huila, Colombia, but he’s also a community leader, innovator, and problem-solver, always looking for a way to improve or expand the ways he shares his coffee with others. 

In 2011, Don Arnulfo was the mustache known ‘round the world for his remarkable win in the Cup of Excellence competition: His top-scoring coffee that year from Finca Primavera fetched $45 per pound at the CoE auction, and instantly granted Arnulfo the recognition he deserves. (At that time, it was the highest recorded price ever paid for a Colombian coffee.) When his fellow members of Los Naranjos Association, a small and tight-knit group of producers located in and around the town of San Agustin, learned of this honor and prize, they turned to him for advice and guidance that he was glad to give: As a result of this community-mindedness, we routinely see better and better coffees from the whole association.

While Don Arnulfo is known as someone his fellow association members can rely on and look to, he also knows that community begins with family: Not only does he work with his brother on the farms, El Faldón and La Primavera, but also has welcomed his son (and trained cupper) Diego on to manage El Faldón in the past few years.

Only four months ago, Don Arnulfo took that connection one step further by opening a café run by his family, featuring—what else?—coffee from his two beautiful farms.

“The inspiration and motivation to do this was that the family wanted to have a next step in the chain of coffee, and it was a family hope to do this,” Don Arnulfo recently said in an interview, translated by Fairfield Trading Company president Alejandro Renjifo. “The passion of coffee—of good coffee—is a family affair, starting with my father and through my brother and myself, now my sons and nephews. The whole family is involved.”

The coffee shop, which is located in the town of San Agustin, is not only a showcase for the Leguizamo family coffees, but also a way of inspiring other coffee producers to try new ways to succeed. “People will observe this and say, ‘Well, if this guy can do that, we should be able to try new things as well, and we will try to improve our coffees,” Don Arnulfo says.

While the café only opened in late 2019, the hope is that it will be successful enough with its sale of Chemex, V60, French press, and espresso-based coffee drinks to allow a second shop to open, where more of the family, and perhaps other members of the community, can work.

If you’d like to serve the same coffees that Don Arnulfo and his family are serving in Huila, browse our current offerings for lots from Finca El Faldón and Finca La Primavera now.