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to the naked eye, this farm is just like any other. but it doesn’t take long to realise that the
50ealize jesus martin, though not huge, is anything but ordinary.
martin grew up like many others in the santa ana valley – known as the coffee triangle of
colombia – on a coffee farm owned by his father and grandfather. “i am the youngest of six
children and we all worked the farm,” martin said. “my parents focused their energies on teaching
us the agricultural trade, but also the love behind it.” despite this great dedication to coffee and
respect for his family business, he ended up pursuing a different career altogether: law and business
management. it didn’t come easy to him as coffee was never far away.
during every visit to his family’s humble farm, the rich aromas of beans roasting and the
smell of his mother’s carrot cake caused his heart to beat faster. coffee was his life, and in 2004,
after years practicing law, he found a way to combine his legal knowledge, business education and
family’s lifeline into what he called “the coffee dream project”.
despite growing some of the most coveted beans in the world, most colombians have never
even tasted the colombian coffee that is renowned around the world. instead, local people drink
what they call “second-hand coffee”, which is made from berries that haven't fully ripened,’have
been over-roasted or even infected with insects and diseases. like most businesses in struggling
economies, the farmers only make profits on exports – so they save their best stuff for higher paying
countries. “farming coffee for a profit is very challenging,” martin explained, tossing a few berries
in his hand. “the coffee trade intermediaries, exporters, roasters and big multinational companies
are the ones that benefit the most in the coffee-trade chain.” martin’s dream project, however, was
to turn this process around, bringing specialty coffee back to colombia.
the project, however, was a total surprise for his family. “when i first informed them, they
told me i was crazy, they said it was a wild goose chase.”
even with his background in farming, starting the project from the ground up was difficult.
convincing his workers to focus on quality was his biggest concern; most only cared about quantity
since their wage was dependent on how many beans they picked. martin recalled many hours, days
and weeks training local farmers to understand the process, from the colours of the raw berries to
the smell and taste of the beans once they’d been dried and sorted.
once the farmers understood the importance of quality, it was onto phase two: bring the
roasting process in-house, instead of paying for the beans to be roasted elsewhere. buying his own
roaster – one of the only five in the entire country – was expensive, but the purchase offered a huge
saving in roasting, packaging and exporting costs.
by 2008, his passion started to pay off; he opened his flagship store café jesus martin in
salento. the shop and its team of trained baristas, martin said, have done much to teach the locals
about enjoying specialty coffee. the look on their face when they take their first sip is what keeps
him motivated. “they are reacting so positively; they’re discovering something entirely different
than what they’re used to consuming,” martin said. “when they discover the difference in quality of
their coffee, they start to care more about where and whom it’s coming from.”
Who coffee farm owned?
Whom did parents call?