Our Story

Cosecha del Sur was born on a single afternoon visit to a Colombian farm, after having the most amazing cup of coffee of my life.

Since then, my goal has been to pay tribute to the hands and cultures that craft this amazing drink.

In March of 2020, I was on a farm in Valle del Cauca, Colombia, developing a project in the hemp industry where I was served a life-changing cup of coffee. One cup turned into three, and the conversation slowly evolved from discussing hemp cultivation to the 2.5 hectares of coffee trees located on the other side of the farm.

While speaking with my friend and owner of the farm, Liliana Gutiérrez Gaviria, I was moved by her passion and desire to create a thriving farming business.  She had gone “all-in” and had sacrificed so much to pursue her dream of owning her own farm and employing local women to work for her.

She explained that it is extremely difficult to make a profit because the market prices for coffee were well below the cost of production. In order to grow coffee that is of the utmost quality, environmentally friendly, and beneficial to the surrounding rural community, it would require significant capital investment. Furthermore, because this coffee had not been commercially sold for years, this truly was a unique cup of coffee that could not be bought in any store in the world. At that moment, the dots were connected. 

I proposed to Lilliana to give me a few months to figure out how to create a coffee brand, export, import, roast, and beyond.. This resulted in a partnership predicated on friendship, trust, and a simple handshake. By leveraging my international commodity trading experience to manage some of the challenging aspects of the coffee industry including logistics, financial risk, and market risk, I was able to find ways to pass the savings back to the farm. I also promised that I would tell the world her story to inspire others like I was that afternoon. 

In May of 2020, I decided to take the leap and start Cosecha del Sur Coffee Company (Spanish for “southern harvest”).

My mission is to inspire others through radical transparency, allowing you, the customer, to feel a direct connection to the amazing origins of our coffees. I hope that we can take this journey together, using coffee as our guide to explore the 40+ countries that produce this incredible drink that plays such a significant role in our daily lives.

Charlie Stephens
Founder, Cosecha del Sur Coffee Co.