Jairo Arcila is a third-generation coffee grower from Quindio, Colombia. He is married to Luz Helena Salazar and they have two children together, Carlos and Felipe Arcila, who are the co- founders of Cofinet. Jairo’s first job was at Colombia’s second-largest exporter, working as their Mill Manager for over 40 years until his retirement in 2019.
Jairo bought his first coffee farm, Finca La Esmeralda, in 1987 and this is where he planted his first Caturra lot. He was fortunate enough to earn money by producing coffee on his farm in addition to working full time.
Using his savings, Jairo slowly managed to purchase five additional farms. After Esmeralda came Villarazo, Mazatlan, Santa Monica, Maracay and then Buenos Aires. During the harvest period, Jairo is able to provide a number of jobs to locals which has a significant economic impact on their community.
Jairo has received great advice and guidance from his sons who are now experts in producing Specialty Coffee. With their help, Jairo has greatly improved the picking, sorting, and processing of his coffees. His sons have also guided Jairo in the production of exotic varieties. He now grows varieties like Pink Bourbon, Java, Papayo ,and Gesha growing across all his farms. The guidance from his sons has empowered Jairo and given him the tools needed to produce fantastic coffees with amazing flavor profiles.
This coffee was grown at Jario’s farm Santa Mónica. This coffee was exposed to a dry anaerobic fermentation period of 72 hours with the pulp on. During this fermentation stage peaches and wine yeast were added. The cherries were then pulped and placed to dry on raised beds with peaches placed amongst the coffee until the ideal moisture content was achieved. This microlot is 100% Castillo. This variety was developed by Federación Nacional de Cafeteros. It is more productive than Caturra and resistant to coffee leaf rust.
Besides coffee, Jairo also grows other agricultural products on his farms such as mandarin, orange, plantain, and banana. Jairo enjoys starting the day with a really good breakfast! But most importantly, he enjoys spending time with his family.