Astrid Medina
Astrid Medina in 2015
Born
Astrid Medina

(1977-01-09) January 9, 1977 (age 47)
Gaitania, Planadas, Tolima, Colombia
NationalityColombian
OccupationCoffee producer
SpouseRaúl Antonio Duran
Children2

Astrid Medina Pereira (born 9 January 1977) is a Colombian coffee producer who gained international prominence on winning the Colombian Cup of Excellence award in 2015.[1][2]

Biography

Born on 9 January 1977 in Gaitania, Planadas, in the Colombian department of Tolima, Astrid Medina Pereira is the daughter of Aureliano Medina Arce and Rosalba Pereira. She is the fifth in a family of 14 children.[1] Following in the footsteps of her paternal grandfather and her father, who introduced her to coffee farming when she was 14, Medina graduated in agricultural production technology at Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA).[3][4]

In 2006, together with three younger siblings, she inherited the Buena Vista farm from her father who had been killed by Marxist rebels.[5] Her mother and one of her brothers had died earlier when they were swept into the river by a landslide near their home.[6] The farm is now owned by Medina, her husband Raúl Antonio Durán (who also comes from a family of local coffee farmers) and her younger sister.[1][4] At an altitude of over 1,800 metres (5,900 ft), it is located in a remote region of southern Tolima which until recently was not popular with coffee buyers as a result of conflicts with guerrillas.[7]

In 2014, Medina started to produce speciality coffee under a scheme for developing late-harvest coffee launched by the National Federation of Coffee Growers. On 13 March 2015, she won the annual Cup of Excellence award for Colombian coffee in a ceremony held in Ibagué, the departmental capital of Tolima.[2] The judges commented on the coffee's "creamy body with sweet and fruity notes".[6] Medina subsequently reported that the award had changed her life, as her speciality coffee sold for over 10 times the normal price of Arabica. The profits have allowed her to improve the farm's infrastructure, to travel abroad and to offer her children a good education.[4][8]

Personal life

Medina's husband, Raúl Antonio Duran, graduated as a veterinarian. The couple have a son and daughter.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "2015 Colombia North – Buenavista – Astrid Medina Pereira". ACE. 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Astrid Medina Pereira, caficultora de Planadas Tolima, gana Taza de la Excelencia 2015" (in Spanish). Pergamino. March 2015. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  3. ^ Ibagué (10 October 2017). "En medio de la guerra, Astrid cultivó un café de talla mundial" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "Astrid Medina en sus propias palabras" (in Spanish). Collaborative Coffee Source. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  5. ^ Willis, Andrew (14 February 2017). "Peace deal may help Colombia to produce more coffee". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Colombian coffee from former rebel territory stands out at auction". Business World. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Astrid Medina #10". Cropster. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Caficultora de Tolima recibió en subasta CoE 10 veces el precio de mercado por su café" (in Spanish). Café de Colombia. April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
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