Medellín · Colombia

Pergamino Café

Pergamino Café roasts in Medellín, Antioquia.

Since 2010 · Pedro Echavarría Jr., Pedro Echavarría Sr.

Overview

Pergamino is the milling, exporting and roasting arm of the Echavarría family's Santa Bárbara Estate in Antioquia, founded by Pedro Echavarría Sr. in the 1970s on a small abandoned farm and run today by his Tufts-educated son Pedro Echavarría Jr., who launched the export business in 2010 after the family grew frustrated selling parchment into the FNC commodity market. The first Pergamino café opened in El Poblado, Medellín in 2012 — among the earliest specialty cafes in Colombia — and has since expanded to multiple Medellín locations including the airport.

Known for

Vertically integrated Colombian operation: producer, miller, exporter, roaster and retailer under one family
Allied Producer Program working with 600+ smallholders in Antioquia, Huila, Tolima, Nariño, Cauca and Inzá
Long-standing export partnerships with Stumptown, Onyx Coffee Lab, Royal NY, Melbourne Coffee Merchants and Redbrick
Early commercial development of the Chiroso variety, originally found in Urrao, Antioquia and now confirmed as a landrace Ethiopian rather than a Caturra mutation
Among the first Colombian specialty cafes to serve African origins alongside Colombian lots

Why it matters

Pergamino is the most internationally visible Colombian specialty roaster operating from origin, and its Allied Producer Program is one of the more cited models for connecting smallholders to specialty buyers at premium prices. The Echavarría family's vertical integration makes it a reference point both for Colombian producers seeking to escape the commodity market and for foreign roasters sourcing transparent, traceable lots.

Production

filter equipment: Chemex, Hario V60, Bodum
roastery location: Medellín, Antioquia (with dry mill operations in Santa Bárbara, south of the city)
espresso equipment: La Marzocco Strada MP (per Sprudge 2012; current equipment unverified)

Café

Carrera 37 #8A-37, El Poblado (original); plus Laureles, Provenza and José María Córdova International Airport locations

Recognitions

Multiple-time export partner of Stumptown's Direct Trade and microlot programs
Featured producer at Cup of Excellence Colombia and World of Coffee origin sessions

Sources

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