Ospina Coffee Company Explained

Ospina Coffee
Location City:Charlotte, North Carolina
Products:Ospina Dynasty Coffee, Premier Grand Cru, Grand Reserve, Ospina Presidential Coffee, Ospina Estate Coffee, Ospina Bambuco Coffee
Divisions:Europe, Asia, Middle East, South America and North America
Homepage:www.ospinacoffee.com

Ospina Coffee was established in Colombia, by Don Mariano Ospina Rodríguez in 1835. Ospina Rodríguez was one of the pioneers of coffee growing in Colombia[1] [2] [3] and in Guatemala.[4]

Summary

Three Colombian presidents were part of this family business, including Mariano Ospina Rodríguez (1857–1861), Pedro Nel Ospina (1922–1926) and Mariano Ospina Pérez (1946–1950). Ospina Pérez was one of the founding fathers of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia.[5]

Ospina Coffee originated in Colombia's volcanic highlands of the Andes, South America, founded by Ospina Rodríguez, who started his coffee business in 1835. His experimental farm at Fredonia, Antioquia served as a model finca cafetera (coffee plantation) for Colombian coffee growers in the late nineteenth century.[6] [7]

Harvard Professor June Erlick, author of the book "Una Gringa en Bogotá," explains that "Coffee in Colombia was traditionally grown by very small farmers." She says the Ospinas helped to change the way the world viewed coffee. "The Ospina family was the first, or certainly one of the first, to see coffee as a larger crop and business."

History

Mariano Ospina Rodríguez established his first experimental plantation in 1835, in the municipality of Fredonia, Antioquia.

After Ospina Rodríguez and his brother Pastor escaped from prison into exile, in 1862,[8] [9] they settled in Guatemala. Factors cited in their having been able to distinguish themselves there include success in inserting themselves into Guatemala's political and economic activities, access to international credit, solid family alliances, and, in particular, their experience as the owners of “Las Mercedes”, one of the largest and most famous coffee plantations of Central America in those times.[10]

In 1863, Ospina Rodríguez, former President of the Granadine Confederation (now Colombia), arrived in Guatemala with his wife Enriqueta Vásquez, his four younger children and his brother Pastor. They had been granted political asylum by the Guatemalan government. They settled in the Pacific piedmont region called “Costa Cuca”, where they established their main coffee plantation “Las Mercedes”. This coffee plantation became known throughout Central America as the most productive and best managed.[11]

Mariano Ospina Rodríguez returned to Colombia with his wife Enriqueta and their children in October 1871.[12] They relocated in the town of Fredonia, Antioquia, where they continued with their coffee business, enterprise and plantations.

In 1880, the National Press (of Colombia) published the first instruction manual for coffee growing, written by Ospina Rodríguez, titled “Cultivo del Café: Nociones Elementales al alcance de todos los labradores” (Coffee Growing: Basic notions available to all farmers).[13] [14] [15] Ospina Rodríguez dedicated much of his efforts to educating others about coffee.[16] In 1931, a second instruction manual for coffee growers was published under the direction of his grandson, Mariano Ospina Pérez, as General Manager of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia.[15]

In 1882, Ospina Rodríguez and his two sons, Mariano and Tulio, established their first of several large scale coffee plantations and organized their larger coffee processing plants and facilities ("despulpadoras" or “edificios del café”) in “El Cerro Bravo”, of Fredonia, Antioquia.[13] The first mechanized pulpers and mills were introduced and operated in these plantations.[17]

Colombian President Pedro Nel Ospina, son of Ospina Rodríguez, took over the business in 1879.[18]

By 1888, the best known coffee plantations in Antioquia were: “Jonas”, belonging to Mariano Ospina Vásquez, “El Amparo”, belonging to Tulio Ospina Vásquez, “La Caraboya”, belonging to the Barrientos brothers and “Gualanday”, belonging to the heirs of General Rafael Uribe Uribe.[19] These four coffee plantations produced 46% of the coffee grown in Antioquia.[20]

The Ospina coffee operations (growing, processing and exports to Europe and USA) were all directed by Ospina Rodríguez until the day of his death, on January 11, 1885, in Medellín.[21]

General Pedro Nel Ospina, besides managing his family's private coffee enterprises, contributed as well to the Colombian coffee industry. He used his ambassadorship to the United States in 1910 as an opportunity to promote the industry.[22] Elected president in 1922, he established the Banco de la Republica (Central Bank) and advanced the national railway system to facilitate the commerce and export of coffee.[23]

At the death of Tulio Ospina Vásquez, his son, Mariano Ospina Pérez, inherited several of the plantations.[24] Ospina Pérez also took over the business. He later founded the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, organizing the nation's coffee industry and making it one of the leading commodities produced in the country. In 1946 Ospina Pérez was elected president of Colombia.[25] Current Ospina Coffee owner Mariano Ospina states that it was Ospina Pérez who envisioned the creation of the fictional character Juan Valdez, the TV pitchman with his burro, who came to symbolize coffee from Colombia.[26]

Further reading

Books

Encyclopedic Works
Newspapers Articles
Magazines

External links

Notes and References

  1. Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia; El Café en el Desarrollo de Antioquia; Editorial Colina; January, 2000; Page 14,
  2. Parsons, James J. ; Colonización Antioqueña en el Occidente de Colombia; trans. The Colonization of Antioquia in West Colombia; Editorial Corpuraba; Page 174; Bogotá, Colombia; 1977
  3. Pizano, Diego; El Café en la Ecrucijada, Evolución y Perspectivas; trans. Coffee at the Crossroad, Evolution and Perspective; Editorial Alfaomega; Bogotá; August 2001, Page 29,
  4. Gallini, Stefania; Anuario Colombiano de Historia Social y de la Cultura; trans. Annuary of Colombian Social History and Culture; Departamento de Historia; Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Page 248; Bogotá, Colombia; 2006;
  5. News: The King Of Coffee In Exile; Pet Jaguars, Prison Escapes And A Tragic Kidnapping: How A World Coffee Baron Came To Charlotte. Elder. Jeff . March 16, 2008 . Charlotte Observer.
  6. Uribe C., Andrés; Brown Gold, The Amazing Story of Coffee; Random House, Inc., NY, 1954, Pg 113, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 55-5793
  7. Parsons, James J. ; Colonización Antioqueña en el Occidente de Colombia; transl. The Colonization of Antioquia in West Colombia; Editorial Corpuraba; Page 172; Bogotá, Colombia; 1977
  8. Safford, Frank R.; The Ideal of the Practical; University of Texas Press; Page 151;
  9. Wagner, Regina and Hempstead, William H. ; The History of coffee in Guatemala; Cristobal von Rothkirch; Villegas Editores; Page 61-69, Bogotá; 2001
  10. Gallini, Stefania; Anuario Colombiano de Historia Social y de la Cultura; trans. Annuary of Colombian Social History and Culture; Departamento de Historia; Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Page 247; Bogotá, Colombia; 2006;
  11. Gallini, Stefania; Anuario Colombiano de Historia Social y de la Cultura; trans. Annuary of Colombian Social History and Culture; Departamento de Historia; Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Page 250; Bogotá, Colombia; 2006;
  12. Gallini, Stefania; Anuario Colombiano de Historia Social y de la Cultura; trans. Annuary of Colombian Social History and Culture; Departamento de Historia; Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Page 282; Bogotá, Colombia; 2006;
  13. Melo, Jorge Orlando; Historia de Antioquia; trans. History of Antioquia; Editorial Presencia Ltd; Page 226; Bogotá, Colombia; November, 1988
  14. Uribe C., Andrés; Brown Gold, The Amazing Story of Coffee; Random House, Inc., NY, 1954, Pg 108, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 55-5793
  15. Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia; El Café en el Desarrollo de Antioquia; trans. Coffee in the Development of Antioquia; Editorial Colina; January, 2000; Page 43,
  16. Safford, Frank R.; The Ideal of the Practical; University of Texas Press; Page 101;
  17. Parsons, James J.; Colonización Antioqueña en el Occidente de Colombia; transl. The Colonization of Antioquia in West Colombia; Editorial Corpuraba; Page 174; Bogotá, Colombia; 1977
  18. Hispanic, November 2007, Spice; Pg. 19, A Feast For The Senses, Fernandez, Idy
  19. El Café en el Desarrollo de Antioquia, Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, Editorial Colina, January, 2000, Page 28,
  20. El Café en el Desarrollo de Antioquia, Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, Editorial Colina, January, 2000, Page 13,
  21. Ospina Hermanos, Fundación Antioqueña para los Estudios Sociales, FAES, Medellín, Colombia, 1984
  22. Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; Gobernantes Colombianos, trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd.; Italgraf; Segunda Edición; Page 177; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983
  23. Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; Gobernantes Colombianos, trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd.; Italgraf; Segunda Edición; Page 176; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983
  24. Alvear Sanín, José; La Vida Ejemplar de Mariano Ospina Pérez; trans. The Exemplary life of Mariano Ospina Pérez; Medellín, Colombia; 1992
  25. Arismendi Posada, Ignacio; Gobernantes Colombianos, trans. Colombian Presidents; Interprint Editors Ltd.; Italgraf; Segunda Edición; Page 210; Bogotá, Colombia; 1983
  26. El Café en el Desarrollo de Antioquia, Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, Editorial Colina, January, 2000, Page 33,

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