Wilson Ortega Washed PB, Huila Colombia

Taste description: Floral aroma of rose and jasmine. In the cup you’ll find notes of sweet mango, pink lemonade and a sweet long finish of tangerines.

Farmer: Wilson Jesus Ortega Muñoz
Region: San Agustin, Huila
Country: Colombia
Altitude: 1640 MASL
Varieties: Pink Bourbon
Process:  Washed
Drying:  Drying room 20 days

Story

Wilson Jesus Ortega Muñoz runs a 2-hectare farm called Finca Los Naranjos in the San Agustin area of Huila. Alongside around 2000 coffee trees, he also grows corn, bananas, and arracacha. Fly crop runs from June through August with the main harvest taking place from November through January. He produces around 1500 kgs of coffee per year.

In recent harvests, he has faced challenges from changes in the climate and the high costs of fertilizer and labor.

Harvest & process: Collected every 3 weeks at peak ripeness and left to ferment overnight in a wooden hopper. Once de-pulped the next morning, the beans undergo a wet fermentation of up to 38 hours, depending on the climate. They are then rinsed four times to remove any remaining mucilage and then are moved to raised beds. Parchment is being evenly dispersed on the beds and drying for 15-20 days.

Wilson Ortega remembers a childhood deeply marked by the example of his

parents and uncles, who worked on the land on from a very young age. As part of

the third generation of a farming family, he learned about the countryside from

childhood, although he also experienced firsthand the precariousness of a time

when agriculture did not offer many opportunities or economic stability.

He was going to school in the village, where he managed to complete fifth grade.

However, financial difficulties prevented his parents from continuing to pay for his

studies, so he had to go out to work at a very young age. His days began before

dawn: he attended school and, when he returned, he did the farm work. He went

to the mill—when sugarcane was the predominant crop—or helped clear the

land to prepare for new plantings. Several years of his life passed in this way.

Over time, given how difficult it was to make a living in the countryside, he

decided to look for work in the village, working in supermarkets and stores.

Despite the change, his love of studying and learning never disappeared. While

working, he decided to resume his education and finish high school at night

school, an experience that strengthened his discipline and his constant desire to

improve himself.

Living in the town also made him meet Milvia, who would later become his wife. For a time, they lived in rented accommodation, until the arrival of their first child marked a turning point in their lives. They decided to return to the countryside and work on a part of the land of Wilson’s parents.

At that time, Milvia had never lived in the countryside and the change wasn’t easy for her, but with Wilson’s families support they managed to get throught his tough time.

Nevertheless, something had to change as Wilson didn’t want to continue working with sugar cane, and instead decided to plant coffee. Luckily they slowly saw their income stabliizing through coffee and they started to aquire more

tiny plots, mostly from other family members, sucha s his uncle and his sister, turning the farm into a family project.

In 2012, Wilson and Milyia started selling their crop to specialty coffee exporters

through the La Amistad group, which had close ties to the Los Naranjos group

and he became friends with Don Augusto Ortega aswell as Esnaiders dad Olgar.

Ever since, Wilson was very invested in improving his quality and being able to

find a differentiated sales channel for his harvest, even though the time of selling

their coffee with La Amistad came to an end, as well as for the Los Naranjos

group, which he joined afterwards.

This commitment has also been reflected in ongoing training. Don Wilson and his

wife have participated in various courses on farm waste management, organic

fertilizer production, and coffee processing, always with the aim of improving

their practices, caring for the environment, and strengthening their production.

Finally, in 2025, he met up again with a friend from the Los Naranjos Association,

who invited him to take his coffee to Monkaaba. Today, Don Wilson is fulfilling one

of his greatest dreams: to see his coffee, with its own name, reach foreign

markets, an achievement built on family work, shared effort with Doña Milvia, and

a history of perseverance, constant learning, and deep love for the land.