The Arcila family of Cofinet are passionate producers, sourcers and exporters of exceptional Colombian coffees. Founded by brothers Carlos and Felipe Arcila in 2015, Cofinet specialise in alternative fermentation processes and are pioneers of innovative processing techniques. We first crossed paths with Carlos Arcila in 2016 when we cupped coffee together at our Curtin cafe, and are proud to have been working with him and his family ever since. We’ve been lucky enough to spend time with Carlos, Felipe and their father, Jairo Arcila, in Colombia twice now, seeing Cofinet’s operations and visiting Jairo’s farms.
The Arcila family has a long history of coffee production. Jairo Arcila is a third-generation coffee grower with over 40 years experience as a Mill Manager for one of Colombia’s largest coffee exporters. Today, Jairo owns five farms and a processing centre, La Pradera, in the picturesque Quindio region. Situated high in the Andes mountain range, Jairo’s farms specialise in exotic varieties and provide hundreds of jobs to the community during harvest.
Seeing an opportunity to create direct, ethical and sustainable relationships between Colombian coffee growers and specialty coffee roasters in Australia and, subsequently, around the world, Carlos and Felipe founded Cofinet in 2015. Cofinet represents and supports smallholder producers, sharing knowledge and techniques through their agricultural, growing and producing programs to improve quality, add value to producers’ coffee, and ultimately build sustainable incomes for smallholder producers.
Over the years, we’ve enjoyed coffees from Jairo Arcila’s own farms, as well as some exceptional single producer lines. La Leona, produced by Marta Arcila, is a mainstay in our Dark Coffee blend and recently released as a single origin espresso roast. Other favourites include a delicate gesha coffee from Sebastian Gomez and the complex and juicy natural processed Nasa Wesx Indigenous Community lot.
We love getting to work with Cofinet and are always excited by the coffees they provide us.