Originally from Nariño, José moved with his family to Huila, first settling in San Agustín, where they worked cutting sugarcane and producing panela. The family later relocated to Pitalito and began working as coffee pickers. After years of saving, José was able to purchase the family farm, Finca El Diviso, 29 years ago. At the time, the property covered just 1.5 hectares. Over the years, he gradually acquired neighbouring parcels, growing El Diviso to its current 17 hectares, including one hectare preserved as a natural forest reserve.

Until around seven or eight years ago, El Diviso was planted almost entirely with traditional coffee varieties, with the harvest sold into the commercial market — at times even as wet parchment. José and his sons, Adrian, Nestor and Jhonathan, eventually chose a different path. By shifting their focus toward specialty coffee, they hoped to reduce their reliance on volatile commodity prices while creating a more secure and sustainable future for their family.

Today, around 80% of El Diviso is planted with exotic coffee varieties, including Gesha, Sidra, Yellow Bourbon, Bourbon Aji and Ombligón, while the remaining 20% continues to grow traditional varieties.

El Diviso’s Pink Bourbon originated from seeds sourced in San Adolfo, the area where the variety was first discovered. The farm’s oldest Pink Bourbon trees were planted seven years ago, while its youngest planting dates back two years and has only reached full production this year. In total, approximately 14,000 Pink Bourbon trees now grow across 3.2 hectares of the farm.