Passage Coffee | Jesus Antonio Saavedra - Colombia

Passage Coffee 

Known for their commitment to quality and sustainability, Passage Coffee works closely with some of the world’s best coffee farms to bring you exceptional blends and single-origin beans.

Explore the rich, complex flavours of Passage Coffee from Toyko, Japan. 

Specialty coffee, not special, but everyday. 

A coffee bean full of individuality born from a single seed. 

The journey of a single coffee bean continues from the place of production, passing through various transit points, until the moment it is poured into a cup. 

Just like the fruits that you love, coffee beans contain a variety of flavours, such as lemon, peach, blueberry, and sometimes flowers. 

In order to bring out the original charm of the ingredients, Passage Coffee's baristas are particular about the entire process from coffee beans to turning them into 'coffee.' 

We hope that the journey of a single bean will continue into people's daily lives, making coffee feel closer to them. 

Jesus Antonio Saavedra / Finca El Placer

Twenty years ago, Antonio Saavedra sold his farm in Tolima, Colombia, at an altitude of 1,200 meters, and purchased another farm further up the hill at 1,715 meters. Even before anyone talked about global warming and its impact on coffee, Antonio realized that rising temperatures would soon make it impossible to grow quality coffee on his low-lying farm.

To reach his current farm, El Placer in San Antonio, Tolima, it's a 90-hour horseback ride from the nearest road. He once rode eight hours to the town of Planadas, Tolima, to deliver coffee samples to his partner in the region, Alejandro Renzifo of Fairfield Trading.

That's why Antonio built a school on his land. Seven children from nearby families attend the school, learning elementary and middle school curriculum. Although their farm is close by, it's far enough away from Antonio's that the children can't commute back and forth daily. Therefore, the children come to school on Monday mornings and stay until Friday afternoons.

Their teacher also serves as the head chef and caretaker. She travels an hour and a half up the hill to Antonio's farm on Monday mornings to teach the children, cook, and care for them until they return home on Fridays. The school has a vegetable patch next to it, and the children tend to it daily and prepare meals using the vegetables they grow. The children could attend public school, but it's farther away than Antonio's farm and doesn't offer weekday boarding. Without the school Antonio built on his land for his neighbors' children, their continued education would be difficult.

The dedication of the teachers and children reflects Antonio's own dedication to life and work. The quality of his coffee is the result of their daily tenacity and willingness to learn. Antonio regularly renovates his farm to keep his trees young. His pickers are trained to harvest only fully ripe coffee. Once harvested, the pulp is immediately removed and the coffee beans are placed in covered containers filled with water, allowing them to ferment for 36 hours. To completely remove any mucilage, the beans are washed up to four times and slowly dried in solar dryers for approximately 15 days. He personally inspects every truck that transports his coffee, ensuring only the most impeccably clean. This is his final chance to ensure his precious product isn't contaminated by a smelly truck en route to his buyer.

"Coffee is in my blood," Antonio explains when asked about the secret to producing high-quality coffee. "I've been growing coffee for 40 years. Coffee provides me with food, life, and love. I'm truly proud when people buy and enjoy my coffee."

Through his connection with Fairfield Trading, Antonio currently works with several buyers, all of whom are genuine people who understand coffee. Through these buyers, he hopes to learn how to make his coffee even better. “I’m a very disciplined person,” he says. “I care about my coffee every day and I try to make better coffee every day.”