Maria Elsi Chavez’s farms, Finca El Placer and El Arrayán, sit along a ridge high in the Andes of Colombia’s Nariño region. Intense daytime sun is retained at night, as the area’s topography holds heat deep within its river valleys. Across her two plots, Maria Elsi has hand-planted roughly 4,000 trees, and her quiet confidence is reflected in the consistency and quality of her Caturra microlots.
She remains closely involved throughout harvest, overseeing cherry selection and managing post-harvest processing with care. After depulping, the coffee ferments for 12–14 hours before drying in two stages: a short initial patio drying, followed by several days on raised beds. This approach is shaped by the region’s high humidity. Her attentive farming and deep understanding of Buesaco’s microclimate result in coffees that stand out for their clarity and balance.
Green Price
$7.70
Green cost, milling, transport, taxes and exporting fees.
Transport
$1.07
Importing fees and transport from the farm to Chicago, Illinois.
Our Cost of Production
$6.08
Labor, Rent, Health Insurance, Paid Time Off
Read The Source Code to learn more about price transparency in the coffee industry.
Colombia Maria Elsi Chavez
Nariño, Colombia
- Producer Maria Elsi Chavez
- Elevation 1900 MASL
- Process Washed
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Quality
Quality means buying high quality coffees from established producers around the world.
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Traceability
Traceability gives recognition to the producers and validates where the coffee is grown, picked, and processed.
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Transparency
We endeavor to contextualize the importance of a fair and balanced trade through the prices we pay.
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Paying More
As an Independent Specialty Coffee Roaster, we always pay well above the C-Market based on two factors; the quality of coffee and the cost of production.
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Fair Wage
A fair wage begins with paying higher premiums to the coffee producer in tandem with providing competitive wages and benefits for our staff here at Metric.
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