APROKAFES
Location: Caicedo, Antioquia
Altitude: 1800 – 2100 meters
Varieties produced at the farms: Chiroso, Castillo, Colombia, Caturra and more.
Products: Caicedo Washed, Chiroso, Tropical Summer.
Leaders: Elkin Diosa
Projects: “Women producers”, “Ten Musketeers”, “Cultivating The Future”
Explore the coffees available at Aprokafes:
Process: Washed.
Blend of small producers from Caicedo.
Notes: Milk chocolate, honey, yellow fruits and vanilla.
SCA Points: 84
Colombian Specialty Coffee from Caicedo, Antioquia:
Aprokafes, led by Elkin Diosa and Fernelli, is a parchment buying center and laboratory based in Caicedo that works closely with small producers to centralize purchasing and improve quality standards for specialty coffee.
In a region where most farms are small, family-owned operations, this community buying center model plays a key role in organizing supply and creating more consistent, quality-driven production. By bringing coffee together in one place, Aprokafe is able to implement standardized evaluation processes and better align local production with specialty market expectations.
The operation offers a wide range of coffee profiles while maintaining a high level of consistency. At the core of this is a dedicated coffee lab built within the buying center, a level of infrastructure that is uncommon for a small town like Caicedo.
This lab allows for standardized cupping, detailed quality analysis, and better control over every lot that moves through the system. By centralizing quality control at the farm level, the project is able to align production with specialty standards and create more reliable, repeatable profiles, available in large volumes for international buyers.
This investment not only enhances the quality of the coffees produced but also sets Caicedo apart from other similar regions, positioning it as a more structured and quality-driven origin.
Women Led Coffee Production & Empowerment
Aprokafe is actively committed to strengthening the role of women within the local coffee community. “Women producers”, a project led by Fernelli, Elkin’s wife, creates space for women to participate more directly in production, quality processes, and decision making.
This approach not only promotes inclusion but also contributes to more stable and resilient production systems. By supporting women with access to training, resources, and opportunities within the value chain, Aprokafe and Fernelli help build stronger households and more consistent long term development across the region.
We also offer the opportunity to source lots that are 100% produced and processed by women. If you’re interested in these coffees, let us know, we’d be happy to share available options.
Sembrando Futuro: Investing in the Next Generation
Aprokafe also leads a project called “Sembrando Futuro,” translated as “Cultivating the Future,” a project that supports young producers in Caicedo by helping them plant and develop the Chiroso variety, one of Colombia’s most exciting specialty varieties.
For buyers, Chiroso offers a powerful combination of differentiation, cup quality, and price accessibility. It has become one of our best-selling varieties thanks to its floral, complex, and elegant profile, while remaining more achievable than many higher-priced exotic coffees.
Through this project, young producers receive Chiroso plants and technical support to shift from volume-based farming toward quality-driven production. This creates more opportunities for value addition at origin, helping break the cycle where producers are limited to low-margin coffee and instead enabling pathways toward more sustainable income and long-term growth.
For buyers, this means access to a coffee with strong market appeal, a clear origin story, and a distinctive cup profile that can stand out on a menu without requiring an extreme price point.
Aprokafe has also partnered with SENA, a local technical school, to train young producers in barista skills and coffee preparation, helping them better understand the full coffee value chain.
By choosing this coffee, buyers are supporting the next generation of producers in Caicedo while offering their customers a unique and commercially attractive Colombian variety.
