Producer: Nando Diaz
Farm: Finca Santa Ana
Region: Santa Rosa Department
Altitude: 1,650-1,800 MASL
Varietal: Dilla Alghe
Process: Washed
Roast: Light
Notes: Caramel, Pineapple, Chamomile

Dilla Alghe is a wild Ethiopian varietal discovered close to the southwestern town of Dilla Alghe. The tall tree has wide branch spacing and wide branch-bud spacing. Young leaves and leaf tips are reddish in color. Its yield is poor, though with homogenous crop ripening, and it is susceptible to diseases. Nevertheless, Nando Diaz has found success growing the uncommon variety in Guatemala, and it's a real standout—sweet, silky, and layered.

Our green coffee buyers first cupped Dilla Alghe at Santa Ana in 2020. It was their favorite from the table of exotic varietals pulled from Nando's "garden"—a small, flat section of the farm near the house where he experiments with 20+ unique varietals. After the positive cupping results, Nando planted about a hectare of Dilla Alghe (~5,000 plants). The 2024 harvest produced a handful of bags, including the two that we are now offering. Nando hopes that 2025 will be the first "strong" harvest for his Dilla Alghe, with the intention that the lot will eventually produce around 12-15 bags.

This is a traditional washed process where the harvested cherries spend one day in a receiving tank, are then depulped and fermented for about 48 hours before being washed and transferred to the patio to dry. In 2024, Nando added a second, larger raised bed greenhouse off of the patio for more controlled drying.

Fernando Diaz is a longtime Direct Trade partner of our sister company, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters. Finca Santa Ana has had multiple Cup of Excellence appearances, including #4 in 2010 and #16 in 2015. The carefully supervised quality control at the farm is evident in the cup.

Finca Santa Ana has partnered with local organizations to invest in the community of Pueblo Nuevo de Viñas, including improving the fiscal infrastructure of the pre-school, elementary school, and the county health center building and maternity room. The farm also provides a "coffee Kindergarten" during harvest season—a certified day care dedicated to the children of the temporary employees on the farm.

As part of our Direct Trade buying philosophy at PT's and Bird Rock, we always look for ways to invest in our farming partners in addition to paying a good price for the coffee. In 2015 Bird Rock shared an investment with Fernando to plant new seed stock at the farm with about 15 new varietals, including Mokka and Gesha. In a few years, these shrubs will give Finca Santa Ana more varietals to sell to specialty roasters and add another dimension to this already great farm.