About Garza Coffee

I am Colombian. I grew up among the coffee plants on my parents' farm. Since I was a child, I have seen how the plants are sown and the ripe cherries are harvested. How they are pulped and washed, packed in bags and then shipped. Unfortunately, due to the already low coffee prices at the time, my family stopped growing coffee and devoted themselves to another business.

I now live in Berlin and specialty coffee has taken a completely new direction. Roasting coffee gives me a new connection to my country and my childhood. In my micro-roastery, I only process socially and ecologically sustainable coffee. I want to be sure that the coffee farmers are paid fairly.

Colombian coffee is grown by small farmers who maintain a consistent structure: the plants are mixed with bananas, plantains and citrus fruits, which provide the soil with important nutrients. Other shade-giving trees protect the coffee plants on hot days and cold nights. The coffee grows in the mountains, which makes the use of machines difficult. Therefore, it has to be picked by hand with minimal labor. In addition, due to the high prices, most farmers do not use pesticides or artificial fertilizers; for them, it is more economical to use natural methods. For these reasons, Colombian coffee is of the highest quality and often has very special flavors.

For me, it is of utmost importance to keep the supply chain as lean as possible to guarantee the coffee farmers a good price. If possible, there should be a maximum of one middleman.

So I try to either have direct contact with the producers or work exclusively with traders who share my principles of sustainable coffee imports and have clear guidelines about it.