Florida’s Musa Coffee Makes a Splash with Coffees Grown and Roasted in Colombia

A bag of roasted Musa Coffee. All images courtesy of Musa Coffee.

University of Florida men’s swim team captain Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero is diving deeper into the family business of specialty coffee with the launch of Musa Coffee, a roasting, wholesale and e-commerce company specializing in Colombian coffees. 

Since November of last year, the Gainesville-based company has imported and sold coffee that was grown and milled at Gonzalez Pinero’s family farm Finca la Montaña, in La Mesa, Cundinamarca, Colombia. The farm’s washed-process Castillo-variety coffees are roasted in Tolima before shipping directly to Musa Coffee e-commerce and wholesale customers in the United States.

As one of the 35 members of the Juan Café Coffee Growers Association, Finca la Montaña partners with Argemiro Hernandez Orjuela, a co-founder of the co-op, for roasting and export.

Musa Coffee founder and University of Florida men’s swim team captain Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero.

“We harvest, wash, and dry our coffee on our farm,” Gonzalez Pinero told Daily Coffee News. “However, with the goal of expanding my coffee offerings and growing Musa into something bigger, we also have been working with Argemiro and the association, who are licensed exporters, making the logistics of importing our coffee more efficient.”

As Musa Coffee dives into the deep end of importing and retailing, coffee in general is very much within Gonzalez Pinero’s lane. The young entrepreneur represents the fourth generation at Finca la Montaña.

“Musa began as a passion project for me. I was inspired by my grandfather’s passion for coffee cultivation,” Gonzalez Pinero said. “I really wanted to share with as many people as possible the quality of our coffee, and get people to understand the craftsmanship, passion, and tradition that goes behind coffee cultivation.”

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, in 2002, Gonzalez Pinero spent his early childhood traveling two hours from the city to the farm at 1,800 meters above sea level each week. Although his father relocated his nuclear family to Dubai, visits back to the farm continued once or twice a year.

An accomplished high school swimmer, Gonzalez Pinero was recruited by the University of Florida, an NCAA men’s swimming powerhouse seeking its 13th straight SEC title this year.

Coffees from Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero’s family farm in Colombia.

“I have not made the decision yet whether I will continue my athletic career moving forward, after my graduation,” said Gonzalez Pinero. “There is a possibility that I will hang up the goggles and retire from competitive swimming after this collegiate season. I also plan on starting another professional career in the realm of commodity trading of coffee, and sales within a larger organization. I never put all my eggs in one basket. I wish to involve myself in as many different projects and areas as possible.”

Given the warm reception Musa Coffee has received in Gainesville and online, for now, Gonzalez Pinero is going with the flow.

“I have very big aspirations and vision for where I want to take Musa within the U.S., however our key focus for now is sustainable and slow growth, so that we can continue to grow and invest back into our farm in Colombia to better our coffee and processes,” said Gonzalez Pinero. “It has been an amazing journey so far and we have received tremendous feedback from our customers, so I am committed to delivering nothing but excellence.”

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