Our History Starts in Antioquia…
…more precisely in a small town named Hatillo. It has many actors, some who have stayed, and some have passed and left their footprints , but the most important thing to know is that it all starts with a love for coffee. You might however be surprised to learn where our story developed. It developed thousands of miles away from Colombia, In Brisbane, Australia.
Miguel Echeverri, Hatillo Coffee’s Chief Quality Officer (CQO), lived in Australia for two years. There, he was immersed into a world very different from that of his natal Colombia. In the Land Down Under, Miguel experienced for the first time the authentic flavor behind specialty coffee. He learned how through different roasting levels and preparations, coffee roasters and baristas were able to highlight the quality of the coffee beans. It is during this time that he fell in love with coffee, so much so that he trained to become a barista and decided to work in a coffee shop.
In Miguel’s own words:
“I enjoyed the taste and everything around coffee so much that upon my return to Colombia, I was determined to start something very similar to what I had experienced in Australia. However, in 2011, that culture had not yet awakened in Colombia.”
Miguel Echeverri, Co-founder and Quality Director Hatillo Coffee
Coffee Crisis
Meanwhile, back in Colombia, Miguel’s father (Alberto Echeverri), who since the early ’90s owned an artisanal coffee farm called Piedra Larga, was going through a crisis. The costs associated with cultivating and processing the coffee beans were higher than what the market was currently paying for them. As a result, he had come to the difficult decision of tearing up his coffee plants and turning the land into a cattle farm.
Fortunately, upon Miguel’s return from Australia and before Don Alberto could tear up the plants, Miguel decided to try a coffee cupping test. Even though a previous cupping by the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (CCGF) didn’t produce the desired outcome, he wanted to give it one last try. This time around, Miguel hired an independent certified coffee taster, and the results were surprisingly good. His coffee obtained a cupping score of 85 points. Such a score was well above Colombia’s average. Unrecognized for many years, Piedra Larga was producing a specialty coffee of excellent quality.
From then on, the idea of becoming a specialty coffee producer took root in Miguel’s mind. While he sold most of his crop to the CCGF, he started to keep a percentage of the crop and packaged and sold it to friends and family who he knew would appreciate its quality. Amongst these friends were Jaime Rodriguez and Diego Restrepo.
Jaime and Diego were so impressed with the quality of the coffee that they did not hesitate to join forces with Miguel to start Hatillo Coffee and fulfill Miguel’s vision of selling his coffee in the US. Jaime, current CEO of Hatillo Coffee, manages the company and takes care of the US distribution channels. Diego, on the other hand, was the creative and strategic mastermind behind the branding of Hatillo Coffee’s products.
Origin of the Brand Hatillo Coffee
The brand name developed through two crucial elements:
- The word “Hatillo” coincides with the location of the brand’s first coffee farm, “Piedra Larga,” located in “Hatillo” a small township of Barbosa, Antioquia.
- In addition, the meaning of the spanish word “Hatillo” is associated with the introduction of coffee beans into Colombia. When Jesuit priests arrived in South America, they had long and arduous travels ahead of them. On their journeys, they carried their belongings in fabric wrappings called hatillos. Within these hatillos, amongst personal belongings, were the coffee seeds that would flourish in and become synonymous with the region.
Not long after the priests’ arrival, coffee plants and their seeds started to spread throughout the Andean Mountain Range including Colombia, where Local farmers began to grow the coffee plants. Their care and the region’s conditions worked harmoniously to produce one of the best coffees in the world, forever changing the landscape and traditions of Colombia.
Recognition to Colombia’s Coffee Farmers
Hatillo Coffee was born out of a necessity to preserve small artisanal coffee farmers and their ancestral knowledge. It also rose as part of the solution to the agricultural crisis and as a tribute to the rural communities. Regardless of being poorly recognized monetarily, they keep working hard to bring the characteristic quality, flavor, and aroma associated with Colombian coffee.
As a commitment to fair economic retribution for their work, at Hatillo Coffee, we pay a minimum of 25% over market price for our coffee beans. Four pillars drive our mission:
- Dignifying the coffee farmer
- Highlighting the quality of their beans
- Generating added value through continuous sharing of good practices to maintain and, when possible, improve the quality of their beans.
- Working to reduce the impact coffee farming has on the environment.