COLOMBIA - FLOR DEL DESIERTO
SIETE SOLES NATURAL
Founded in 2018 by Julian and Yonatan Gonzalez in Huila, Colombia, Cuatro Vientos builds on their father’s coffee expertise to support over 30 specialty farms, focusing on quality, sustainability, and long-term partnerships.
VARIETAL: Various
PROCESSING: Natural
ALTITUDE: 1,450 to 2,150 meters above sea level
PRODUCER: Cuatro Vientos & Siete Soles
REGION: Huila
TASTING NOTES: Blackberry, Cherry, Chocolate
With three strategically located purchasing points and two warehouses across Huila, Cuatro Vientos provides farmers with essential services—from coffee drying and storage to cupping labs and logistical support—ensuring every lot meets the highest specialty coffee standards.
ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
Cuatro Vientos is a family-owned coffee exporter based in Huila, Colombia. Founded in 2018 by Julian and Yonatan Gonzalez, the company is named after the Gonzalez family’s first farm, where the brothers spent much of their childhood. Julian and Yonatan learned much of what they know from their father, Armando Gonzalez, who was a “pergaminero,” someone who bought and sold parchment coffee.
Cuatro Vientos works closely with over 30 specialty coffee farms, treating farmers as long-term partners focused on quality. The company has three purchasing points in Huila—Acevedo, Santa Maria, and Algeciras—which serve not only as collection points but also as service hubs where farmers can access support to maintain quality and reach new markets.
With these strategically located points, Cuatro Vientos can source fresh coffee year-round, tapping into two alternative harvest seasons within Huila. The northern Huila harvest occurs in the first half of the year, while the southern Huila harvest takes place during the second half, ensuring consistent, high-quality coffee throughout the year.
The company also owns two warehouses in Acevedo (Southern Huila) and Campo Alegre (Northern Huila). These facilities provide essential services to farmers, including coffee drying, storage in silos, and training in grading and evaluation through cupping labs.
Cuatro Vientos adds value by offering logistics and milling support, ensuring every lot is handled properly. They also provide financial support at the start of the harvest through a credit line with Bancolombia, helping farmers access financing that is often unavailable through traditional banks. Financial education workshops are also offered to increase farmers’ literacy and promote long-term success.
In addition, Cuatro Vientos supports farmers with marketing services, helping manage samples and share their stories. They maintain an ongoing dialogue between producers and roasters, ensuring clear communication about expectations, capabilities, and goals to achieve the best results in every cup.
HARVEST & POST-HARVEST
Smallholder producers and their families selectively handpick coffee. Once picked, ripe red cherries are brought to a newly constructed drying facility in Acevedo, Huila, called the Siete Soles Drying Complex. At Siete Soles, cherries are floated to remove floaters and then lightly fermented for 48 hours. Afterward, the cherries are laid out on patios to sun-dry and are raked frequently to ensure even drying.
COFFEE IN COLOMBIA
Colombia has been producing and exporting coffee renowned for its full body, bright acidity, and rich aftertaste since the early 19th century. The country boasts a wide range of climates and geographic conditions, which in turn produce unique flavors in coffee. This also means that harvest times can vary quite a bit. In fact, across its different regions, Colombia produces fresh crops nearly all year round.
The increasing focus on the specialty industry is changing the way traders and farmers do business. It is becoming more common for farmers to isolate the highest quality beans in their lots to market separately. These higher-quality lots are often sold under specific brands or stories. Besides its wide variety of cup profiles, Colombia has quickly expanded its certification options over the past 10 years.
