Carlos Guamanga Pink Bourbon, Colombia

After leaving home at fifteen in search of work, Carlos Guamanga landed in the coffee growing region of Colombia, southern Huila. Over the next four years, the journey for better opportunities took Carlos all over the country, before he returned to Huila to work as a coffee picker. While working on a coffee farm Carlos met his wife Patricia (Pato), and his quest for coffee knowledge began. He went on to study the roasting and cupping of specialty coffee at Colombia’s SENA (National Learning Service) and experiment with a variety of processing methods. Eventually, Carlos began growing his own coffee on a four hectare farm, El Recuerdo, with the help of his wife Pato and an uncle. Years later, Carlos and Pato have found great success in specialty coffee and have become known for their sustainable agricultural practices and stewardship of a nearby forest reserve. Now with two kids and four coffee varieties, Carlos and Pato have high hopes for the future, with dreams of exporting their coffee all over the world.