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About Los Andes

Los Andes coffee is one of the last few shade-grown Colombian beans. It grows in the state of Santander, Colombia. 

Unlike genetically modified coffee, which can grow under the sun (95% of the current world production), shade-grown coffee like Los Andes doesn’t invade large territories.

It grows together in harmony with hundreds of other types of trees, making these areas functional habitats for birds, bears, and other animals, which in turn nurture the soil and therefore its produce.

WHY LOS ANDES

Charalá, Colombia

Our partner farmers are an association of women from Charalá, Santander 

The UN has actively been promoting the union of women to run coffee-growing lots in the hopes to improve these families’ chances of a more economically sustainable life.

The women in the association receive training in both good coffee-growing techniques and basic healthy finance management.

Women in the association receive the payment directly, instead of through their husbands.

The coffee bush in its original state, needs shade to grow and flower. This in itself makes coffee plants to be ecological. The shade is usually provided by taller trees and/or other compatible crops. Among the later are bananas and plantains, both types of trees are taller plus their leaves are gigantic canapes that shade greatly on the coffee bushes making them ideal companions.

Quality and kindness

read why los andes :
" In the very broad sense, every time you buy a coffee on the basis of origin from a specialty vendor rather than on the basis of price from a supermarket you are supporting a market-based solution to tropical poverty and environmental degradation.

In fact, you are helping everyone. You are helping yourself to better coffee and a more expressive choice of coffee; you are helping a college-student clerk work at something slightly more interesting than taking orders at a fast-food outlet.

You are helping roasters, dealers, and exporters lead more interesting lives based more on shared passion than on pure number crunching; and you are recognizing and rewarding the hard work of mill operators and growers.

All of this for a few cents more per cup."
-Kenneth Davids