About the producer:

The owner of this coffee garden, Emerson Felipe Narváez, was born in Nariño, the very same region where he now grows coffee. Although he spent his childhood watching his father work in the coffee fields, growing coffee was not part of his original life plans. Due to the violence that plagued the area, Emerson’s family was forced to leave the region, and he tried his hand at various professions — serving as a soldier, a builder, and even a baker — until life eventually led him back to coffee. Once Emerson discovered the world of specialty coffee, he has remained loyal to it ever since, even earning his Q Grader qualification.

The beginnings of his farm, El Turpial , were far from easy — perched high in the mountains, in a place where electricity, water, and roads were initially absent. In fact, the farm could only be reached on horseback. The name El Turpial reflects this story — it honors the song of a bird that fills the coffee farm every day, reminding Emerson of perseverance and the path towards creating outstanding coffee.

Despite many challenges, Emerson was drawn to the area’s unique microclimate and began experimenting with different varieties and processing methods. His most successful initiative has been grafting Geisha variety trees onto the strong roots of Caturra plants, ensuring their survival at high altitude and withstanding the dramatic temperature fluctuations.

This coffee undergoes a meticulously designed washed process: following careful selective harvesting, the coffee cherries are fermented for three days in GrainPro bags, which are disinfected with ozone. After pulping, the coffee undergoes a second fermentation lasting two days, followed by drying on raised beds.

Emerson’s dedication has paid off — he won first place at the Best Cup Mi Nariño 2023 competition and has secured award-winning results in previous years as well.

About the region: Nariño

Nariño is one of Colombia’s 32 departments, located along the border with Ecuador and home to thousands of smallholder coffee-farming families. It is here that Colombia’s three majestic Andean mountain ranges converge, creating ideal conditions for cultivating high-grown Arabica coffee — fertile soil and an outstanding climate are the region’s natural strengths.

Historically, Nariño’s unique geography and proximity to both coastal and land borders have transformed the region into a corridor for illicit trade routes, leaving remote mountain communities exposed to violence and instability. But today, Nariño tells a different story — thanks to the remarkable resilience, courage, and determination of its coffee farmers, the region has earned a reputation as one of Colombia’s most innovative and exciting coffee-growing areas.