Chapoleras Coffee: Women-Grown Colombian Natural | SlowFlow
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At SlowFlow, we believe coffee can do more than taste good. It can tell a story, honour the people behind it, and connect what we drink with what we value. That is exactly why Chapoleras is so meaningful to us.
Chapoleras is a women-grown Colombian coffee produced by María Elena Pulgarín, Noralba Benítez, and Lina Restrepo in Apía, Risaralda, Colombia. It is a coffee that brings together flavour, craftsmanship, and the contribution of women in coffee, while also helping us support a cause close to our hearts during International Women’s Month.
For us, Chapoleras is more than a coffee in our line up. It is a coffee that reflects the work of women at origin, the beauty of Colombian coffee, and an opportunity to support women more broadly through our donations to SisterWorks during International Women's Month.
The producers behind Chapoleras coffee
One of the reasons Chapoleras stands out is that it is produced entirely by women. María Elena Pulgarín, Noralba Benítez, and Lina Restrepo are the producers behind this lot, and their care, experience, and skill are reflected throughout the coffee’s journey.
In coffee, it is easy for the final cup to receive most of the attention. We talk about brew recipes, roast development, tasting notes, and processing methods. But behind every coffee is a chain of human effort. Farmers make countless decisions that shape quality long before the coffee is roasted or brewed. With Chapoleras, that story matters just as much as the flavour profile.
This coffee gives us a chance to recognise the role of women in coffee more intentionally. Women contribute across every stage of the coffee supply chain, from farming and harvesting to sorting, processing, roasting, and hospitality. Yet their work is not always acknowledged with the same visibility. Chapoleras gives us an opportunity to celebrate that contribution in a direct and meaningful way.
What does “Chapoleras” mean?
The name Chapoleras carries cultural meaning in Colombia. It is associated with women coffee pickers and the generations of women whose labour has been part of the rhythm of Colombian coffee production.
For us, the name is not just descriptive. It is a tribute. It points back to the women whose work sustains coffee communities and whose contribution deserves to be seen, valued, and celebrated. When we share Chapoleras, we are not only sharing a delicious coffee. We are also sharing a story about people, tradition, and recognition.
Coffee origin: Apía, Risaralda, Colombia
Chapoleras comes from Apía in Risaralda, one of Colombia’s best-known coffee-growing regions. This part of Colombia is known for its mountainous terrain, high elevations, and long coffee-growing heritage. Those conditions help create coffees with sweetness, clarity, and complexity.
This lot is grown at 1,600 to 1,700 metres above sea level, an elevation that supports slower cherry maturation and helps develop structure and flavour in the cup. Colombia’s reputation for quality coffee is built on regions like this, where climate, altitude, and careful farming come together to produce coffees with real character.
For us, origin matters because it connects flavour back to place. When we talk about Chapoleras as a Colombian natural coffee, we are not just naming a country. We are talking about a specific region, a specific landscape, and a specific group of producers whose work gives this coffee its identity.
Varietal and processing
Chapoleras is made from Castillo and Caturra, two coffee varieties well suited to Colombia’s growing conditions. These varietals can produce cups with sweetness, balance, and lively fruit character when grown well and processed carefully.
This is also a natural process coffee, which is a big part of what makes Chapoleras so expressive in the cup. After harvest, the cherries undergo 48 to 72 hours of fermentation before being solar dried. In a natural process, the coffee dries inside the fruit, allowing sugars and fruit character to influence the seed more directly.
That processing method often creates coffees that feel fuller, fruitier, and more layered. In Chapoleras, it brings a profile that feels vibrant and generous without losing balance. It is a great example of how processing can shape the final experience of a coffee and why natural coffees can be so memorable.
Tasting profile: tropical fruit, panela, chocolate, and a wine-like finish
One of the things we love most about Chapoleras is how clearly the cup reflects both the coffee’s origin and processing. The tasting profile is rich and expressive, with notes of tropical fruit, panela sweetness, chocolate, and a wine-like finish.
The tropical fruit character gives the coffee brightness and energy. The panela sweetness adds warmth and a rounded, caramel-like depth. The chocolate note brings comfort and familiarity, helping anchor the fruit. Then the wine-like finish gives the coffee a lingering elegance that makes each sip feel especially memorable.
For people who enjoy fruit-forward coffees, Chapoleras offers plenty to love. But it is not only for adventurous coffee drinkers. The sweetness and chocolate notes also make it approachable and enjoyable for anyone wanting a coffee with character that still feels balanced and comforting.
Why Chapoleras is meaningful to SlowFlow
Chapoleras is meaningful to us because it brings together so many of the things we care about: beautiful coffee, traceable producers, thoughtful storytelling, and the chance to create positive impact through what we share.
At SlowFlow, we want coffee to feel human. We want people to know where it comes from, who grew it, and why it matters. Chapoleras naturally carries that kind of story. It is a coffee grown by women, named in honour of women, and shared during a time when we are intentionally celebrating women’s contribution and leadership.
That makes Chapoleras especially important during International Women’s Month. It gives us a way to pause, recognise the hands behind the cup, and celebrate the role women play in shaping coffee culture and community.
Supporting women through our International Women’s Month campaign
For our International Women’s Month campaign, Chapoleras is also the coffee through which we are supporting SisterWorks through donations.
SisterWorks supports migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeker women in Australia by helping create pathways to economic independence through employment, entrepreneurship, and community connection. Their work is practical, empowering, and deeply meaningful.
This connection is important to us because it links women at origin with women here in Australia. On one side, Chapoleras celebrates the work of women coffee producers in Colombia. On the other, our campaign helps support women building new opportunities and greater independence through SisterWorks.
That is what makes this coffee feel bigger than flavour alone. It is a reminder that coffee can connect people across places and experiences. It can carry story, care, and solidarity. And in a small but real way, it can help direct support where it matters.
Our International Women’s Month campaign
A coffee story worth slowing down for
Chapoleras is a coffee we are proud to share because it is delicious, distinctive, and deeply meaningful. It is a women-grown Colombian natural coffee with a vibrant tasting profile, clear sense of origin, and a story that deserves to be told.
From Apía, Risaralda to the hands of María Elena Pulgarín, Noralba Benítez, and Lina Restrepo, Chapoleras reflects skill, care, and tradition. Through our International Women’s Month campaign and support for SisterWorks, it also becomes a way to celebrate women more broadly and contribute to something beyond the cup.
That is why Chapoleras matters to us at SlowFlow. It is not only a beautiful coffee. It is a celebration of women in coffee, a tribute to the producers behind it, and a reminder that what we choose to drink can also reflect what we choose to stand for.