Colombia Manos al Grano Comunidad

About the Coffee

This lot comes from Azahar Coffee's Manos al Grano initiative, which works with smallholder farms across Huila, Colombia. The program pools coffee from multiple producers in the region to create traceable community lots, with a focus on consistent quality and fair working conditions at origin. The Caturra variety used here was grown at 2,148 meters above sea level, which is high even by Huila standards.

One of the more specific things Manos al Grano does is run a Pickers Project, which moves away from the typical seasonal harvest model. Rather than hiring pickers temporarily during harvest, the program employs trained pickers on a full-time basis. For farmers, that means more reliable labor, better cash flow, and more controlled cherry selection. More consistent picking at that elevation translates directly to more uniform processing and cleaner cup quality. The coffee is processed as a washed lot, meaning the fruit is removed before drying, which tends to produce a cleaner, more defined flavor profile.

Fernwood roasted this coffee in partnership with Azahar, leaning into the clarity and structure that well-processed, high-elevation Huila coffees are known for.

About Fernwood

Fernwood started in 2007 when Ben and Terra bought Parsonage Café in Victoria, BC. A 1936 Barth roaster came with it, and what began as curiosity turned into the core of the business. Both came from restaurant backgrounds, and that shaped how they approached coffee: with the same consistency and care you'd expect from a well-run kitchen, not a marketing strategy.

From early on, they focused on daily quality control and repeatable results over scale. That approach was backed up when they won the Canadian Barista Championship, competing against roasters who weren't also trying to make great coffee accessible to everyday drinkers. The team that helped build Fernwood then is still largely the one running it now.

"Fernwood is a roaster you'll see all over Reddit as being one of BC's best. I asked to try their coffee, and now I get what all the hype is about. I bought a few extra bags of Manos al Grano for my stash at home."

- Dean, Director of Coffee