Chapata, Colombia

Chapata is a rural locality or village, also known as a vereda, in the municipality of Anserma, in the department of Caldas. Founded in 1967 in Anserma, the Cooperativa de Caficultores de Anserma, or Anserma Coop, is a non-profit coffee growers’ cooperative serving municipalities including Anserma, Risaralda, San José, Belalcázar, and Viterbo. In Anserma alone, they represent over 2,000 smallholder producers cultivating coffee at elevations between 1,790 and 2,200 metres above sea level. Common varietals grown in the region include Castillo, Colombia, and Caturra. 

The Anserma Coop was established to bring together collective social strength and shared knowledge for smallholder members, supporting them across all stages of farming and processing through its cooperative wet mill. For many smallholders in rural or remote areas, quality is desired just as much as at more established farms, but limited infrastructure and resources restrict opportunity. Access to a shared wet mill allows farmers to process their own coffee and better realise its potential, ultimately achieving better prices for their product. 

Caldas farmers sell their cherries to the Anserma Coop, which then adds value through processing. The mill specialises in natural processing, with a smaller volume of washed coffees. Delivered cherries are first classified according to picking quality, with the highest-quality and ripest cherries reserved for the natural process. Once sorted, cherries are cleaned and washed, then passed through an optical sorter to remove undesirable colour variations linked to uneven ripeness that may have passed the initial sorting steps.

After selection, cherries are fermented whole for 24 to 36 hours under aerobic conditions before being mechanically dried at controlled temperatures of 35 to 45 degrees Celsius to a target moisture content of 10 to 11 percent. The coffee is then stored in sealed bags for up to 15 days to stabilise after mechanical drying. It is separated by batch for traceability before being transported to a dedicated dry mill prior to export. 

Anserma Coop supports its members through various means, including technical assistance such as soil analysis, equipment maintenance, agronomic guidance, and regular training focused on improving tree health and overall agricultural practices. The cooperative also provides social and welfare programs such as subsidised medical services, insurance, and community support initiatives.

Sustainability and infrastructure efforts include improved water and septic systems, as well as materials for coffee drying patios, helping reduce environmental impact and improve on-farm efficiency.