Nestled in the mountains of southern Tolima, near Colombia’s highest volcano, lie the small communities of Planadas and Gaitania. This beautiful place is home to the dedicated group of coffee farmers responsible for Colombia El Jordan.

El Jordan is Stumptown’s longest standing direct-trade relationship in Colombia, and one we are particularly proud to represent, year after year. The Jordan group was formed through an initial collaboration between Stumptown, our import-export partner Caravela, and the producers themselves. Many of the original members of this group are from a sub-municipality called El Jordan, which is where this coffee gets its name.

In 2011, Caravela helped us solidify this partnership into a multi-year commitment. At the time, this was an unconventional approach to the annual coffee buying cycle. In fact, the multi-year contract was originally offered to a group of 100 producers, but only 19 agreed to sign on. These 19 producers were the original Jordan group. Today, the group has grown to include 37, and this model is something Caravela promotes to other roasters, and producers seek out because of the long-term benefits. These contracts offer a fixed price and set volume for three years, offering stability in a highly volatile market like coffee. They are also signed by three parties, the producers, Caravela and us. This signals the commitment of each stakeholder, and highlights an important point: that none of us could do our work without the dedication and trust of the others.

In 2018, we teamed up with Caravela to commission an impartial third-party impact study on the impact Direct Trade with the El Jordan producers. The findings of the study were this: Direct Trade isn’t perfect, but if you want to incentivize quality and improve producer livelihoods, this model works. While price premiums are important, impact doesn’t come from paying a good price once – impact comes from long-term commitment, consistency, and volume growth over time.

The study also pointed to potential ways to strengthen our relationship further. In response to one of the areas that El Jordan coffee farmers identified for improvement, in 2020 Caravela and Stumptown co-invested in the purchase and installation of climate monitors. These weather station devices capture micro-climatic data, which can help individual farms track and adapt to their specific, changing conditions.

We are proud to partner with this incredible group of producers, and we are thrilled to offer Colombia El Jordan each year.