Cafetal Coffee Co. is a Colombian specialty coffee roaster and café in Adelaide, founded by Santander-born coffee professional Julian Gonzalez. We connect Australian coffee drinkers with traceable Colombian coffee, sharing the people, places and craft behind every cup.

A Production Engineer and experienced coffee roaster, Julian founded Cafetal in 2019 to bring Colombia's authentic flavours and coffee culture to Australia. His approach is grounded in direct relationships with producers, careful small-batch roasting and a commitment to quality and sustainability.

From Santander, Colombia to Adelaide, Australia

Santander is one of Colombia's historic coffee-growing regions, known for productive mountain landscapes, native biodiversity and abundant water sources. It is also where Julian grew up and where Cafetal's relationship with Hacienda Casablanca began.

Meet Coffee Producer Liliana Caballero.

One of Cafetal's principal coffee producers is Liliana Caballero Rojas, owner of Hacienda Casablanca. The farm is located in the Vericute district of Floridablanca, Santander, in northeastern Colombia. Its shaded growing environment, biodiversity, water sources and careful harvesting practices contribute to coffees with distinctive cup profiles, including notes of citrus and caramel.

Liliana, a Santander native and the daughter of farming parents, acquired Hacienda Casablanca with her family in 2006. She made coffee cultivation her life project, aiming to improve the well-being of her family and the farm's permanent and seasonal workers.

Hacienda Casablanca

Hacienda Casablanca dates to 1860. Originally known as Villa Josefa and later Hacienda La Leona, the property was eventually named Hacienda Casablanca. The land was traditionally used for coffee cultivation and once covered about 150 hectares. After subdivision into smaller plots, the farm now covers about 20 hectares. Its main house retains a mid-19th-century architectural style.

Drawing on her background in administration and finance, Liliana plans the annual renewal of older coffee trees and cultivates varieties including Castillo, Colombia, Tabi, Gesha and Pink Bourbon.

Award-winning Colombian Specialty Coffee

With support from the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation, Hacienda Casablanca obtained Rainforest Alliance certification in 2008. The farm has since received recognition in regional and national coffee competitions:

• First prize at a coffee fair in Socorro, Santander

• First place in the 2016 national Yara Champion Program Cup Contest, with a score of 89.48

• Finalist in the competition in 2017 and 2018

• First place in the 2024 Santander coffee cup competition

Hacienda Casablanca also won the Export Challenge 770 program with the Chamber of Commerce and is an active member of the Santander Coffee Cluster. The farm produces specialty coffees across multiple varietals and processing methods, including natural, honey, extended fermentation and traditional washed coffees.

Real Direct Relationships, Traceable Coffee

For Cafetal, Colombian coffee is about more than flavour. It is about knowing where coffee comes from, recognising the producer's work and building genuine relationships between growers, roasters and coffee drinkers. That connection guides how we source, roast and share specialty coffee in Adelaide.