Granja La Esperanza | Mandela Natural

Rigoberto Herrera (or just Rigo for short) is a world-renown producer, one of the earliest champions of organic and Gesha production in all of Colombia. He would never say this about himself, but if you’ve ever tasted a Gesha variety coffee from Colombia, Rigo’s name is on that family tree somewhere.

The son and grandson of coffee producers, Rigo carries within him intimate knowledge of Granja’s four main farms, one of which (Finca Potosí) that’s been in the family since 1945! There is a reason these coffees have routinely placed in the top slots in Roasting, Barista and Brewer’s competitions over the last 15 years. The curiosity, care and consistency is unlike anything we’ve seen anywhere else.

Rigoberto, taking a page out of his own playbook, is now pouring all his efforts into adapting and understanding new varieties on his farms, much in the same way he familiarized himself with Gesha nearly 20 years ago, working Java, Sudan Rume, Pacamara and more, as well as developing their own proprietary variety they call Mandela.