Coffee Description
This wonderful coffee from the ASOPEP Cooperative is clean, sweet, complex, boasting notes of sweet vanilla, caramel, black licorice, and cherry, with a very full, satiny body, and a bright, crisp acidity.
Roast Level from the Roaster
Refers to the roast level in comparison with other coffees from the roaster
Light/Medium
Roast Level according to Crema
Refers to the roast level in comparison with all the coffees on Crema.co.
Light/Medium
Variety
Typica
Process
Washed
Elevation
1,350 - 2,170 masl
Region
Tolima
About ASOPEP Cooperative of Colombia
Asociación de Productores Egológicos de Planadas (ASOPEP) is a thriving organization of 168 coffee farming families, based in the idyllic town of Planadas. The department of Tolima is one of Colombia’s most productive coffee growing areas, but only relatively recently has coffee from Planadas caught the attention of specialty coffee buyers.
ASOPEP was founded in January 2013 with the following mission: “To be known as an association that creates opportunities for the personal growth of its members, protects the environment, innovates in commercial business processes and is always in the vanguard of specialty coffee producers worldwide,” and the success of that mission shows. The 168 member families include 30 families where women are heads of the household and manage the farming operations. Educational capacity building workshops are at the core of ASOPEP’s program to ensure long term sustainability of their success. While many coffee growing countries struggle with keeping young generations interested in coffee production, an impressive 30% of ASOPEP’s farmer members are between 20-30 years old.
Along with a strong focus on education, ASOPEP facilitates internal cupping and barista exhibitions and competitions to build enthusiasm for specialty coffee. They’ve even produced consumer-oriented specialty coffee events to grown the community’s interest in buying and drinking specialty coffee. ASOPEP also recently obtained their Organic certification as well, making them one of only a small number of producers of certified Fairtrade and Organic coffee in Colombia.
Tolima, Colombia
Our coffee expert
Aubrey Mills
6+ years experience as Coffee Taster, Wholesale Director, barista and Coffee Quality Director.
Aubrey Mills is steeped in coffee. Not literally, of course, but since 2013, she’s been preparing and tasting coffee for a career. Initially as a barista at the Portland, OR Insomnia Coffee and Dapper & Wise, her job was to stay on top of quality and help customers find coffees they were excited about. This involved tasting all the coffees they’d be serving that day, dialing in espresso or approve a drip recipe.
She soon became Director of Wholesale at Dapper & Wise, where she regularly cupped at quality control cuppings with the team, hosted cuppings for the public and trained wholesale partners on proper coffee preparation. In the role of helping to maintain Dapper & Wise’s menu of diverse flavor profiles, roast levels and processing methods, Aubrey also visited coffee producing countries. She says, “Traveling to origin and experiencing the beginning of the coffee journey has given me greater perspective for how many variables can impact flavor in the final cup.”
Along with her on-point palate and killer coffee know-how, Aubrey brings creativity, sparkle and grace to everything she does, actively looking for opportunities to showcase the value of specialty coffee and address sustainability issues in the industry.
had this to say:
Aubrey Mills is steeped in coffee. Not literally, of course, but since 2013, she’s been preparing and tasting coffee for a career. Initially as a barista at the Portland, OR Insomnia Coffee and Dapper & Wise, her job was to stay on top of quality and help customers find coffees they were excited about. This involved tasting all the coffees they’d be serving that day, dialing in espresso or approve a drip recipe. She soon became Director of Wholesale at Dapper & Wise, where she regularly cupped at quality control cuppings with the team, hosted cuppings for the public and trained wholesale partners on proper coffee preparation. In the role of helping to maintain Dapper & Wise’s menu of diverse flavor profiles, roast levels and processing methods, Aubrey also visited coffee producing countries. She says, “Traveling to origin and experiencing the beginning of the coffee journey has given me greater perspective for how many variables can impact flavor in the final cup.” Along with her on-point palate and killer coffee know-how, Aubrey brings creativity, sparkle and grace to everything she does, actively looking for opportunities to showcase the value of specialty coffee and address sustainability issues in the industry.
"A balance between fruity and comforting, I taste salted caramel and coconut cream when hot. As it cools a sweetness and slight acidity, similar to a honey crisp apple emerges with a quick finish. "
- Location
- Wenatchee, WA
Mela Coffee Roasting Co.
Mela Coffee Roasting Company is situated in the beautiful Wenatchee Valley of Washington State, nestled at the foot of the Cascade Mountains where the mighty Columbia River rolls on its majestic way to the Pacific. “Mela” comes from the Italian word for apple, a nod to Wenatchee, considered the apple capital of the world, and to the Italian roots of espresso coffee.
Mela’s mission is to steward coffees well, and in so doing, give honor those who grew them. One of the ways they do this is by roasting specialty beans in such a way as to draw out the unique characteristics and flavors of the region. Since their beginning in 2007, they have been inviting customers into the coffee conversation, sharing their own passion for farm-to-cup values in the form of stellar coffee, roasted well. Besides their roastery, they serve crafted espresso and coffee drinks at their café in the heart of downtown Wenatchee.
