El Diviso

Finca El Diviso is located in the Normandía village of Pitalito, within the Huila region of Colombia. The farm was established approximately 27 years ago by the Lasso family, with the initial transition into specialty coffee spearheaded by the brothers' mother. Today, the estate is managed by brothers Néstor and Adrián Lasso, who took over the property roughly eight years ago with a vision to move beyond the traditional Caturra and Castillo varieties grown by their parents.

To elevate their production, the Lasso brothers formed a strategic partnership with their neighbor, Jhoan Vergara, who manages the nearby Las Flores farm. This collaboration allowed the three producers to pool their technical knowledge and resources. By working closely with organizations like Cata Export and receiving training from Colombia’s national coffee school, SENA, they began a rigorous journey of trial and error to refine fermentation protocols and post-harvest processing techniques.

The farm sits at an altitude ranging from 1,750 to 1,900 meters above sea level. This high-altitude environment in the Colombian Massif provides the ideal conditions for the diverse array of exotic varieties cultivated at El Diviso. The farm is particularly celebrated for its collection of rare cultivars, including Sidra, Ombligon, Chiroso, and various Bourbon mutations such as Ají and Rosado, as well as Geisha.

El Diviso is perhaps best known for its mastery of experimental processing. The producers utilize advanced techniques, including multi-stage anaerobic fermentation, to manipulate the flavor profiles of their harvests. These methods are designed to highlight complex, fruit-forward characteristics—such as tropical acidity, strawberry, and stone fruit notes—that have become the hallmark of the El Diviso brand in the specialty coffee market.

The impact of these innovations has been profound, with El Diviso coffees frequently appearing on the international stage. The farm gained significant prestige when its Sidra variety was featured in winning routines at the World Barista Championship. This recognition has solidified the farm's reputation as a leader in modern, high-end coffee production, bridging the gap between experimental farm-level research and the demands of the global specialty roaster market.

For the consumer and roaster, El Diviso represents a shift toward precision-driven agriculture. By documenting and standardizing complex fermentation steps, the producers ensure consistency in highly experimental lots. This commitment to quality and transparency has made their coffees highly sought after for both competition use and premium retail offerings, effectively debunking long-standing myths about the limitations of certain processing methods, including decaffeination.

Today, the story of Finca El Diviso stands as a testament to the success of the new generation of Colombian coffee producers. By prioritizing scientific experimentation and variety diversity over traditional commodity farming, Néstor and Adrián Lasso have transformed a modest family plot into a globally recognized benchmark for specialty coffee excellence.