El Diviso, A Family Legacy And The Rise Of One Of Colombia’s Most Influential Coffee Farms
Rhys EvansShare
High in the mountains of southern Huila, near the town of Pitalito, El Diviso has become one of the most recognisable names in modern Colombian specialty coffee. Known for meticulous processing, rare varieties, and competition-level microlots, El Diviso represents a powerful shift in how coffee is grown, processed, and valued in Colombia.
What sets El Diviso apart is not just the flavour of its coffees, but the story behind them. This is a multi-generation family farm shaped by resilience, education, collaboration, and a deliberate move from traditional production into controlled, experimental specialty coffee.
El Diviso was established by Jose Uribe Lasso, who purchased the land in the late 1990s after relocating from Nariño to escape regional violence. For Jose, Huila offered both safety and opportunity. He has often spoken about the region’s fertile soils and how dedication to farming could provide a sustainable future for families willing to invest the work.
The farm is located in the Normandía and Bruselas districts of Pitalito, Huila, sitting at elevations between 1,750 and 1,900 metres above sea level. Covering approximately 14 to 16 hectares, El Diviso benefits from cool nights, slow cherry maturation, and nutrient-rich soils, all of which contribute to complexity and structure in the cup.
In its early years, El Diviso focused on traditional Colombian varieties such as Caturra and Castillo, producing clean, fully washed coffees. These foundations of careful harvesting, selective picking, and slow drying remain central to the farm today.
The defining transformation of El Diviso began when Jose’s three sons took on active roles in the farm’s management and production.
- Nestor Lasso
- Adrian Lasso
- Jonathan Lasso
From around 2018, and more formally by 2022, each son was given responsibility over designated plots of land. This allowed them to choose varieties, experiment with cultivation methods, and refine post-harvest processing independently. The result was a rapid evolution from traditional coffee farming into one of Colombia’s most innovative specialty operations.
Education, Science, And A Precision-Driven Approach
Both Nestor and Adrian pursued formal training through SENA, Colombia’s national learning service, with a focus on quality control, sensory analysis, and fermentation science. This education reshaped how the family understood coffee processing, shifting from intuition alone to controlled, repeatable systems.
Since 2018, El Diviso has refined techniques including:
- Long and staged fermentations
- Oxidation followed by anaerobic processing
- Native microorganism inoculation
- Reapplication of mucilage juices and mosto
- Thermal shock, also known as quenching
- Slow, humidity-controlled drying on marquesinas and in sealed environments
Rather than producing novelty lots, the family focused on consistency. Every process was documented, adjusted, and repeated until results could be reliably achieved.
Collaboration With Las Flores And Jhoan Vergara
A major chapter in El Diviso’s story is its close collaboration with neighbouring producer Jhoan Vergara of Las Flores farm.
Las Flores, founded in 1990 and now run by Edilberto Vergara with his son Jhoan, spans over 14 hectares at approximately 1,730 metres above sea level. Together, the Lasso and Vergara families exchanged knowledge, trialled new techniques, and pushed fermentation boundaries well beyond regional norms.
This collaboration played a critical role in the development of hybrid processing methods that later became known internationally, particularly Hydrohoney, later branded by Lohas Beans as Duo Cherry Velvet.
The Role Of Lohas Beans
Lohas Beans has been instrumental in sharing El Diviso and Las Flores coffees with the global specialty community. While not producers themselves, Lohas works closely with forward-thinking farmers to bring competition-ready microlots to roasters, cafés, and brewers worldwide.
Their naming of coffees such as Floral Symphony, Creamy Cultured Brilliance, and Duo Cherry Velvet reflects a focus on flavour identity rather than marketing hype, helping position these coffees at the highest level of the specialty market.
Varieties Grown At El Diviso
Today, El Diviso is planted with an exceptional range of varieties, including:
- Sidra Bourbon
- Pink Bourbon
- Yellow Bourbon
- Red Bourbon
- Aji Bourbon
- Ombligón
- Geisha
- Typica
- Pacamara
- Java
- Castillo
This diversity allows processing methods to be matched precisely to varietal characteristics, ensuring clarity, balance, and expression in the final cup.
Processing Spotlight, Duo Cherry Velvet And Hydrohoney
One of El Diviso’s most recognisable styles is Duo Cherry Velvet, Lohas’ interpretation of the Hydrohoney process. This technique combines half-dried cherries with freshly harvested cherries, rehydrating and fermenting them together to build layered sweetness and texture.
Key stages include controlled oxidation, aerobic fermentation, native mosto enhancement, thermal shock at approximately 50°C to halt fermentation, and final drying in hermetically sealed dehumidifiers at stable temperatures. The result is a coffee that balances intensity with cleanliness and structure, making it particularly well suited to competition brewing.
El Diviso On The World Stage
In just a few years, El Diviso has become a staple name in national and international barista and brewers competitions. Coffees produced by Nestor and Adrian Lasso, often in collaboration with Jhoan Vergara, are regularly selected by elite competitors seeking clarity, vibrancy, and distinctive flavour.
This recognition has not come from scale or volume, but from disciplined experimentation and a commitment to quality at every stage of production.