Name: Maria Deya Camacho
Region: Acevedo, Huila, Colombia
Farm: Finca El Divino Niño
Processing: Honey
Varieties: Pink Bourbon
Altitude: 1,400 MASL
Notes: green apple, blood orange, raspberry candy
Brew Ratios: For pourovers, try a 1:14 coffee-to-water ratio. 196˚F water, coarse grind ~950-1000 microns.
Start with a 1:2.1 ratio for espresso. 198˚F
We are delighted to present this coffee as part of a selection purchased during our trip to Colombia, where we visited the women contributing to the Condor Huila Project. Created by Martha Bayter, one of the founders of Forest, the project is dedicated exclusively to coffees produced by women in the Huila region. Through this initiative, Forest provides farming education, tools, and resources, while also opening access to markets that may otherwise be out of reach.
A central part of the project each year is a graduation event, where buyers from around the world gather to taste microlots prepared by the producers. After calibrating together, the group scores and ranks the coffees before participating in a live auction. The experience is especially meaningful, with many of the producers present in the room, hearing direct feedback and results from the cupping sessions. As the atmosphere builds with music and celebration, the auction begins—often accompanied by the enthusiastic chant of “¡Vale más, vale más!”
We were fortunate to secure several lots during this auction, including this exceptional coffee, and even partnered on one lot with our friends at Slone Coffee in Romania.
The purpose of the auction is to encourage producers to take risks—whether by experimenting with new varieties or exploring innovative processing methods—and to create a pathway for those risks to be recognized, rewarded, and fairly compensated.
This particular lot was the #1 ranked coffee in the auction. We paid $20 per pound green directly to María Deya Camacho. Investments like these reflect our commitment to supporting women of color in coffee who are pushing boundaries and producing truly outstanding coffees.
About María:
María Deya Camacho is a distinguished coffee producer from Acevedo, Huila, in the village of San Isidro, where she carries forward a rich family tradition of coffee cultivation passed down through generations.
Her journey began with a parcel of land gifted by her father to each of his children. Through perseverance and vision, María Deya expanded her holdings over time, eventually establishing her own farm, El Divino Niño. There, she combines inherited knowledge with ongoing learning to refine her craft and improve quality.
Her commitment to excellence has earned her national acclaim. She achieved second place in the Cup of Excellence in 2011 and fifth place in 2017, firmly positioning her coffees among the finest in Colombia.
One of her standout offerings, a Borbón Rosado (Pink Bourbon) coffee, is produced using a meticulous honey process with controlled fermentations. The process begins with the careful harvest of ripe cherries, which are placed in sealed bags for 48 hours in an anaerobic environment as a pre-fermentation stage.
The coffee is then depulped without full washing, allowing part of the mucilage to remain. It is subsequently returned to sealed bags for an additional 48 hours to continue fermentation.
Following this, the coffee undergoes a light rinse to remove excess mucilage while preserving enough to influence flavor development. Finally, it is dried naturally in a controlled drying facility for 12 to 13 days, depending on climatic conditions, ensuring proper stabilization and the development of its characteristic honey process profile.
