Medellín Secret

More About Medellín Secret

Medellín Secret is a coffee company with a Dutch business base and an offering centered on coffee from individual farms. The current official entity is Medellín Secret Finca Coffee VOF, located at Rapenburgerstraat 171-H in Amsterdam. The KVK number is 93151829. Company.info mentions, based on KVK data, a new registration on March 4, 2024.

Public information about the founding is not entirely clear. LinkedIn lists 2004 as the founding year. Koffiegek wrote in February 2016 that Arnold Noorduijn and Marc van Eck started the brand more than ten years earlier. MT/Sprout wrote in April 2014 that they had started Medellín Secret four years prior. In the available Dutch press, Arnold Noorduijn and Marc van Eck are named as the historical founders.

Originating from a Colombian family connection

The origin of the brand is linked to Finca La Luisa in Antioquia, Colombia. According to its own description, Medellín Secret arose from a family connection with this farm. The motivation was that the coffee from the farm should not disappear anonymously into blends. The official product information states that Silvia Vargas has been supplying coffee from Finca La Luisa to Medellín Secret since 2006.

This emphasis on origin also forms the basis of the current presentation. Medellín Secret describes its approach as single-farm coffee. This means the beans come from one specific farm and one harvest, rather than from a blend of multiple origins. The official website summarizes the offering as three farms, three countries, and three stories.

Assortment and coffees

The current official assortment consists of three single-farm coffees and a Coffee Taster Pack. A current blend line is not documented in the official webshop. The three core coffees are Finca La Luisa from Colombia, Finca Santa Elena from Costa Rica, and Finca La Candelaria from Guatemala. The product pages describe all three as medium roast.

Finca La Luisa originates from Antioquia in Colombia. The coffee is linked to farmer Silvia Vargas. The variety is Caturra, grown at an altitude of 1,800 meters, with a washed process. The official information lists a cupping score of 84.5.

Finca Santa Elena comes from Tarrazú in Costa Rica. The farmer is Luz Marina Trujillo. Caturra is also mentioned here, with a growing altitude of 1,500 meters and a cupping score of 85. However, the official pages provide conflicting information regarding the process. One product snapshot mentions natural, while the farm page refers to honey or black honey processing.

Finca La Candelaria comes from Antigua in Guatemala. The farmer is Luis Pedro Zelaya. The coffee is described as Typica, grown between 1,300 and 1,500 meters. The process is washed, and the cupping score is 84. The Coffee Taster Pack combines the three aforementioned coffees and lists Colombia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala as the countries of origin.

Sourcing, relationships, and supply chain

Medellín Secret states that it works directly with the same three farms. The company cites a period of more than twenty years. The documented relationships are Silvia Vargas at Finca La Luisa, Luz Marina Trujillo at Finca Santa Elena, and Luis Pedro Zelaya at Finca La Candelaria.

According to the official description, the relationships with Santa Elena and La Candelaria were formed by visiting the farms directly. The website contrasts this with purchasing via a catalog or intermediary. A LinkedIn update about La Luisa mentions a harvest period from September to January. During that season, approximately one hundred pickers stay on the farm. The highest plots, around 1,950 meters, are mentioned in that update as being reserved for Medellín Secret.

Sustainability and Public Claims

The wholesale page describes direct trade, long-term partnerships, and fair prices as its principles. At the same time, the official site does not publish an audited price report. Current certification numbers, audit reports, CO2 reports, data on packaging composition, and measurable goals for waste reduction are also missing.

The documented sustainability claims focus primarily on farm practices and relationships. Finca Santa Elena uses worm beds to convert coffee pulp into compost. The farm also has a water purification system intended to keep the river on the estate clean. Finca La Candelaria provides work for hundreds of people during the harvest and, according to available information, invests in training and sustainable farming methods.

Sales, tastings, and physical presence

Products are sold via the official webshop and through a subscription, where customers can choose their coffee and frequency. The FAQ mentions shipping with DHL or DPD and delivery to multiple EU countries. Additionally, Medellín Secret offers wholesale for offices, the hospitality industry, and retail stores.

The official tasting page mentions, among others, Kitchen2Table in Woerden, De Koffie Winkel in Haren, and a location on Fahrenheitstraat in The Hague. This Hague location is documented as El Secreto del Cafe or Medellin Secret Retail. The page describes the place as a specialty store where Aebele hosts personal coffee tastings. The offering consists of Medellín Secret coffees, limited editions, loose-leaf tea, and Visser chocolates. A full café menu, seating capacity, espresso machine setup, or fixed tasting schedule is not publicly documented.

Team, press and activities

In addition to Arnold Noorduijn and Marc van Eck, other names are associated with the company. Elisa Noorduijn has the title Operations & Sustainability on LinkedIn and publishes official site posts. Aebele Noorduijn is mentioned as the person behind El Secreto del Cafe and as a coffee expert at the Hague tasting location. Gustavo Gaviria appears among the employees on LinkedIn, but a specific role is not publicly documented.

In earlier Dutch media coverage, Medellín Secret received attention due to the Challenger 50 by MT/Sprout. That article mentioned a turnover of 300,000 euros, two employees, and a positioning against Douwe Egberts. Koffiegek wrote in 2016 about availability in more than 800 Albert Heijn stores. Current availability at Albert Heijn is not documented in the available information. Recent mentions in international coffee media such as Sprudge, Perfect Daily Grind, Barista Magazine, or Daily Coffee News are not publicly recorded in the examined material.

Disclaimer: We do our best to keep all information in this article as accurate as possible. Have you come across something that is no longer quite correct? Send a message to the editorial team at [email protected] and we'll update it!