Onyx Coffee - Doyenne Colombia El Tambo Amaca

Located far west in the Western Cordillera Andes mountains of Colombia, there is an association of women banding together with the name AMACA. The Associación de Mujeres Productoras Agropecuarias del Cauca is a group of over 150 women who produce coffee on small farms throughout the region. We've partnered with AMACA to bring you the product of their hard work, and we publish all prices paid to them, which you can find below.

AMACA
Located far west in the Western Cordillera Andes mountains of Colombia, there is an association of women banding together with the name AMACA. The Asociación de Mujeres Productoras Agropecuarias del Cauca is a group of over 150 women who produce coffee on small farms throughout the region. Concentrated in the municipality of El Tambo, Cauca, the members of this association are considered small-holder growers- the vast majority of the farms only consist of 1-2 hectares of land suitable for coffee cultivation. Despite their small size, many of these farms have entire wet mills for on-site processing and drying, mostly due to the mountainous terrain forcing the onus of production and processing upon small holders. Despite the challenges of micro-mill processing and coffee production at large, AMACA has persevered for many years, no doubt owing to their hard work and dedication to each other. We are thankful to partner with them, and look forward to many more harvests.
This particular microlot comes from Deisy Yazmin Cortez, a key member of the AMACA group. During our tasting of the harvest, we separated out high-performing microlots with the help of Pergamino, paying a micro lot premium to incentivize quality and to support the efforts of AMACA.

Doyenne is defined as a woman who is the most prominent person in a particular field. Coffee production is traditionally male led due to the cultural relationship dynamics in producing countries. Women have always contributed to and are often the backbone of coffee production, contributing detail oriented, quality-focused excellence to the field. Until recent years, they are rarely honored for this work. Doyenne seeks to identify and amplify the stories of woman achieving incredible marks in coffee. The selections are curated by Andrea Allen, co-founder of Onyx Coffee Lab and 2020 US Barista Champion. The heart is for women to collaborate and to boost each other's work and achievement through stories.

A Message from Andrea Allen
I recently traveled to Honduras for a coffee conference and met with female producers from all over Central America. In listening to them and their stories, I started to feel a desire to amplify their voices, to help tell stories of resilience, excellence, patience, and hard work.

As a woman in the Specialty coffee industry, I myself have had to fight for legitimacy and respect over the years. I have felt that if I can use anything I have to showcase other women fighting for the same kinds of things that I have, that perhaps we can all benefit from each other's drive and passion.

Enter Doyenne- a passion project based on these experiences, a journey to drive commerce and revenue to women working so hard to earn it by telling stories and showcasing excellence. Enjoy these coffees for their superb nature, hear these stories and follow along with these women as they continue to change the landscape of Specialty coffee