Delivery till
Tuesday, the 30th of June 2026
La Colmena
by Equipo monKaaba from monKaaba
La Colmena is a fully traceable blend from monKaaba, an empowerment project led by smallholder producers and based in San Agustin, Huila. This is our second consecutive purchase of La Colmena, which allows smallholders to receive a better price for their coffee than they would on the conventional market.
The coffee has a medium roast and a balanced flavor profile with notes of apricot, cocoa and panela. We recommend preparing it as an Aeropress, in a French press, a Moka pot or an automatic filter machine.
Taste Notes
Apricot, Cacao & Panela
Roast Level
Strength
Variety
Arabica, Pink Bourbon, Catimor, Caturra, Colombia, Cenicafe 1, San Bernardo, Castillo, Tabi
Process
Washed
Provenance
Huila, Colombia
€18.79
In Stock
Who produces La Colmena 
Equipo monKaaba , monKaaba
Although San Agustín is one of the oldest and most valuable coffee growing regions in Colombia, generational smallholder farmers still do not have access to markets that would offer them a sustainable price. monKaaba seeks to change this.
The six smallholder families who founded the project were driven by a shared vision of a different system in which coffee farmers are treated with respect and dignity. Esnaider Ortega Gomez and Didier Ortega run the day-to-day operations of monKaaba. The central hub is a quality assurance laboratory, where any producer can drop by to taste their own coffee and receive immediate feedback on what can be improved. Producers can then decide to join the monKaaba, receive guidance from more experienced producers, and distribute their coffee through the collective.
Transparenz
Our relationship with Equipo monKaaba and monKaaba
€9.27
/kgThe price we pay monKaaba for your coffee
Imported by Semilla Coffee
How La Colmena is imported
2024
For how many years we have been working with Equipo monKaaba
About La Colmena
“La Colmena” is the Spanish term for ‘beehive’. It stands for the idea that the success of the community is based on the efforts of each individual. Didier Ortega writes: “The idea behind La Colmena is to produce a collective field blend of different varieties from the coffee farms of small farmers or coffees from small farmers who want to establish themselves in the specialty coffee market and can achieve a better price with the joint field blend."
The coffee in this blend was harvested in late 2025 and includes contributions from Angela Yineth Ortega, Benedicto Fernandez, Damian Bolaños, Mauricio Montanchez, Elicier Nuñez, Henry Muñoz Quiñones, Jaime Burbano Ortega, Miguel Augusto Ortega, Jenaro Burbano, Jonathan Rolando Muñoz, Jose Burbano Muñoz, Jose Ernesto Erazo, Karol Anacona Ortega, Luz Mila Bravo, Luis Orlando Quinayas, Marbey Bolaños, Pastor Ordoñez, Sonia Bolaños, Victor Jaime Ortega, Yivier Quinayas, Silvia Ordoñez, Nelson Noel Galindez, Lucrecia Hoyos Fajardo.
Brewing recommendation for La Colmena
Anabel recommends the following recipe for brewing La Colmena with Filter Machine
Preparation of 65g La Colmena beans, with a medium-fine grind size and 1 L water.
Results in an smooth cup with a deep sweetness and notes of cacao and apricot. Avoid astringency by adjusting the grind size coarser.
monKaaba Bodega
Huila, Colombia 1730 m a.s.l. Altitude
The Equipo monKaaba operates a small office in San Agustín with a lab for quality assurance. Here, producers from the region can have their coffee roasted for testing and taste it together with monKaaba. This allows monKaaba to offer tips for improving quality and provides producers with the opportunity to market their coffee through monKaaba, helping them achieve higher prices for their coffee.
Customer Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first!