Finca El Tome is the10 hectare farm of Mr. Oscar Aldana. It is located in the Vereda of Salado near the town of Ataco in the state of Tolima, Colombia. The farm is made up of Castillo and Caturra trees which are about 3 years old and sit at an average of about 1,600meters above sea level. He picks, pulps and ferments his coffee on the farm for about 18 hours, depending upon the weather. He then washes the coffee with clean water a few times to remove any lingering mucilage and dries it in a parabolic drier at about 2 cm for approximately 8 days. The coffee is allowed to rest in a small warehouse for 20 days before he takes it to town and delivers it to the co-op. Cooperativa de Caficultures des Sur del Tolima. CAFISUR
It is very common in this area for small producers to band together in associations or cooperatives in order to buy in bulk, network among themselves and to negotiate with the FNC for government programs.Coffee from Tolima was difficult to find even six years ago because of the presence of Guerilla acitivity in the area but now the roads are open and some wonderful coffees are coming out.
