Mauricio Montanchez

Origin: San Agustin, Huila

Process: Washed

Varietal: Pink Bourbon

Elevation: 1600m 

About Mauricio Montanchez:

The Montanchez family's path to coffee wasn't a direct one. Don Jesús and Maria Edelmira raised their children on cold weather crops and dairy farming in Nariño before deciding, with the hope for better opportunities, to move south to Putumayo to grow coca and raise cattle. As regional violence and crop eradication efforts made that life increasingly dangerous Don Jesús and his family set out again in search of somewhere safer to put down roots. In 2001, the family arrived at Los Guaduales, a farm with existing coffee plantations and pasture, and started over in a crop they knew almost nothing about. Neighbours taught them the basics, and the family, including sons Antonio, Miguel, Robert, and Mauricio, spent the next two decades building the farm into a serious coffee operation.

In 2018, on the advice of a respected local grower, they planted their first 5,000 Pink Bourbon trees, a varietal well suited to the region's altitude and known for both cup quality and resistance to coffee leaf rust. It marked a turning point. Rather than selling into anonymous blends through exporters in Pitalito, as they always had, the family began to see a path toward specialty coffee, one where quality was recognized and rewarded. After Don Jesús passed away in 2021, his sons divided the farm and carried that vision forward together. They joined the MonKaaba Project to market their coffee with full traceability. MonKaaba helps smallholder families in San Agustín improve their farming and coffee quality through free sample roasting, blind cupping, and honest feedback. It also helps them build stable, transparent trading relationships that move them away from the local black market and reflect the true quality of their work. For the Montanchez family, specialty coffee has never just been about a better cup. It's been a way to build a more stable, dignified life for the people who grow it.

Harvesting and Processing:

On the farm, ripe cherries are harvested every three weeks. They ferment in a wooden hopper for 12 hours before pulping, then go through a 48 hour dry fermentation in majolica tanks. After washing, the coffee rests in water for another 12 hours before drying slowly over 16 to 20 days. The result is a Pink Bourbon that reflects both the varietal's natural clarity and the family's meticulous approach to processing.