The first coffee we ever purchased from La Pradera was the Mokka varietal, which went on to win us a Good Food Award! La Pradera is a family-owned and operated farm, with four generations of the Daza family actively involved in farming, processing, and exporting their specialty coffee.
Mr. Héctor Daza began transforming the family farm into a coffee paradise by planting a diverse range of timber and fruit trees, creating a natural shade canopy for the different varieties of coffee they would grow. This marked the beginning of a lifelong commitment to environmental stewardship. Today, the farm includes anaco, bucaro, guamo, oak, avocado, tangerine, banana, and many other tree species, all contributing to shade canopy for the crop. Now under the leadership of third-generation coffee producer Oscar Daza, La Pradera continues to prioritize sustainable land use, organic farming practices, and a deep respect for the farm and the natural environment it inhabits.
The farm is nestled near the Chicamocha Canyon—the second largest canyon in the world. The canyon creates a unique and favorable microclimate for coffee production, with warm air currents during the day and cool breezes and rainfall at night.
Today, the La Pradera family farm has expanded to include eight other farms, a quality control lab, and wet and dry mills, forming the La Pradera coffee company. The QC lab is led by a team of certified professionals headed up by Luis Alfredo Archila. The wet mill and dry mill include state-of-the-art equipment, including an eco-washer, a pre-drying deck, and both solar and mechanical dryers. In total, Hacienda La Pradera employs 15 permanent staff and 172 seasonal workers, including 30 women—22 of whom operate the Manos de Mujer certified Finca Santa Maria.
