Introduction:Take an in-depth visit to the Montreal Estate in Tolima, Colombia, to discover how this specialty coffee farm — once ranked sixth in the COE and which won the championship in 2023 with a Geisha variety — creates unique flavors through high-altitude terroir and exquisite post-harvest processing techniques. From regional environment and variety characteristics to the actual brewing parameters of the champion coffee, this guide offers practical tasting and brewing advice for pour over enthusiasts.
As the world’s third-largest coffee-producing country, Colombia benefits from the high-altitude terrain of the Andes Mountains, fertile volcanic soil, and diverse microclimates, which have long nurtured numerous specialty coffees with distinctive flavors. Among its many producing regions, Tolima in the central-western part of the country, though less well-known than the southern Huila region, stands out for its consistent quality and potential, accounting for about 12% of the nation’s annual production. Among them, the Montreal Estate has rapidly risen as a shining star in recent years. The owner, Duberney Cifuentes Fajardo, as a third-generation coffee farmer, has propelled the estate from sixth place in the COE competition to the championship title within just a few years.
Colombia not only boasts abundant natural resources but also features uniquely diverse terrain. Although situated within the tropics, the country’s significant elevation differences result in varied climate types. The western part is dominated by the north-south running Andes Mountains, forming numerous steep slope areas ideal for coffee cultivation; the eastern part consists of vast plains. The presence of multiple active volcanoes, a dense river network, and forest coverage exceeding 50% collectively create optimal conditions for coffee farming. The main coffee-growing zones are concentrated around the foothills of the Andes at altitudes of approximately 1,300 meters, with an average annual temperature of about 18°C and annual rainfall ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 millimeters, allowing for multiple harvest periods throughout the year.
As the country’s third-largest producing region, Tolima’s coffee farms are mostly located on slopes at elevations of around 1,544 meters. Compared to farms in the southern regions, those here are generally slightly larger, typically ranging between 10 and 15 hectares. In addition to the renowned Santa Ana Estate, the Montreal Estate is another representative farm in the area. Managed jointly by Duberney Cifuentes Fajardo and his relatives and friends, although he is not from the first generation of coffee farmers, his 19 years of in-depth experience and professional expertise have enabled the estate to quickly rise in the specialty coffee field.
Since taking over the farm in 2014, Duberney first participated in Colombia’s Cup of Excellence (COE) competition in 2017, where a blend lot of Geisha and Caturra earned him sixth place, showcasing remarkable potential. In 2018, he switched to a single-origin Geisha variety and won second place; by 2023, he achieved a score of 90.61 with a Geisha variety, securing the championship. This series of achievements is inseparable from his previous career at Caravela, a renowned specialty green coffee trader, where he worked in a technical role — an experience that allowed him to accumulate critical skills in coffee tree cultivation management and post-harvest processing, and to fully apply this professional knowledge to his own estate.
Currently, the Montreal Estate mainly grows varieties such as Geisha, Caturra, and Sidra. Among these, Geisha demands stringent growing conditions and can only express its best flavors under high altitude, low temperature, and moderate sunlight, all of which the Tolima region’s altitude and microclimate provide perfectly.
For pour over enthusiasts, the Geisha lots from the Montreal Estate feature distinct floral aromas and citrus notes, with a layered taste profile upon brewing. It is recommended to use the pour over method, with an optimal water temperature controlled at 90–92°C and a coffee-to-water ratio set at 1:15, which better highlights its delicate acidity and sweet aftertaste. During brewing, pay attention to even water pouring to avoid excessive agitation of the coffee bed, thereby fully extracting the nuanced flavors. This coffee is not only ideal for beginners to experience the charm of high-quality Geisha, but also an excellent choice for advanced enthusiasts to practice their pour over techniques and flavor identification.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
