Coffee was probably first introduced to Colombia in 1723 by the Jesuits, though there are inevitably different accounts. It spread slowly as a commercial crop to various regions of the country, but its production did not become significant until the end of the 19th century. By 1912, coffee made up approximately fifty per cent of Colombia’s total exports.
Colombia recognized the value of marketing and building its brand relatively early on. The creation in 1958 of Juan Valdez, the farmer who represents Colombian coffee, was perhaps their greatest success. Juan Valdez and his mule were created as the symbol of Colombian coffee and appeared on bags of coffee and also in various advertising campaigns, portrayed by three different actors over the years. Juan Valdez became a point of recognition, particularly in the US, and added value to Colombian coffee. The character built on the success of early marketing phrases such as ‘Mountain Grown Coffee’, and the constant promotion of ‘100% Colombian Coffee’ meant that Colombia would stand apart in the minds of consumers across the world.
This marketing was, and continues to be, undertaken by the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros (FNC). This organization, created in 1927, is particularly unusual in the coffee-producing world. While many countries have organizations involved in the export and promotion of their coffee, few are quite as large
and complex as the FNC. It was created as a private non-profit organization to defend the interests of coffee producers and is funded through a special tax on all coffee exported. As Colombia is one of the largest coffee producers in the world, the FNC is well funded and has become something of a monstrous, bureaucratic organization. This bureaucracy is perhaps inevitable as the FNC is now technically owned and controlled by its 500,000 coffee-producing members. While the FNC is involved in the more obvious roles of marketing, production and some financial matters, its reach goes deeper into coffee-growing communities and it has a hand in the creation of both social and physical infrastructure including rural roads, schools and health centres. It has also invested in other industries besides coffee to help spur on regional development and wellbeing.
Colombia is one of the largest producers of coffee in the world, and export is controlled by a national federation. The country’s well-defined growing regions produce a varied range of crops.
THE FNC AND QUALITY
Recently there has been some friction between the FNC and the more quality-conscious section of the industry, as the FNC’s perceived interests of the farmers may not always lead to the best possible quality in the coffee. The FNC has a research division called Cenicafé which breeds specific varieties and many believe the promotion of varieties like Castillo has favoured quantity of yield above cup quality. It is possible to see both sides of the argument, and as global climate change has an increasing impact on the stability of Colombia’s production, it is increasingly difficult to argue against varieties that ensure livelihoods for producers, even at the expense of losing some great cups of coffee.
TRACEABILITY
As part of the promotion of Colombian coffee, the FNC created the terms ‘Supremo’ and ‘Excelso’. These terms relate only to the size of the bean, and it is important to understand that they have no relation to quality. Unfortunately this classification obscures any traceability as coffee marketed this way may come from many, many farms and be blended before being sieved mechanically to the necessary sizing grade. Essentially this is generic coffee, and its naming offers no help when trying to buy quality. The speciality coffee section of the industry has been working to maintain traceability, so when looking for something incredibly enjoyable, make sure the beans come from a distinct place, rather than just being a certain size.
Plantations in the mountainous territory of Risaralda, one of Colombia’s western-central departments, produce some of the country’s best-known coffee.
TASTE PROFILE
Colombian coffees have a huge range of flavours, from the heavier, chocolatier coffees through to jammy, sweet, fruity lots. A huge spectrum of flavours exists across the regions.
GROWING REGIONS
Population: 49,829,000
Number of 60kg (132lb) bags in 2016: 14,232,000
Colombia has well-defined growing regions, and they produce an impressive variety of coffees. Whether you want rounder, heavier coffees or something vibrant and fruity (or something in between) there is probably a coffee in Colombia that fits the bill. The regions are geographically defined, rather than politically, so it is not unusual to find that there are common traits to the coffees produced in each region. If you enjoy one coffee from a region, you will probably enjoy many of the others.
The coffee trees in Colombia yield two harvests each year, the main harvest and the second harvest, known locally as the mitaca harvest.
CAUCA
Among others, this area is best known for its coffees grown around Inza and the city of Popayán. The Meseta de Popayán is a high plateau with attractive growing conditions provided by the altitude, its proximity to the equator and the surrounding mountains, which protect the coffee against the humidity of the Pacific and the trade winds from the south. The result is a very stable climate year round, and the region has notable volcanic soil too. Historically there has been a predictable, single rainy season each year in October to December.
| Altitude: | 1,700–2,100m (5,600–6,900ft) |
| Harvest: | March–June (main crop) November–December (mitaca crop) |
| Varieties: | 21% Typica, 64% Caturra, 15% Castillo |
VALLE DEL CAUCA
The valley of Cauca is one of the most fertile parts of the country, with the Cauca river running down between two large Andean mountain ranges. The area was one of the epicentres of the Colombian armed conflict. Typical of Colombia, most farms are pretty small and the area has around 75,800 hectares (187,300 acres) under coffee production, split between 26,000 farms owned by 23,000 families.
| Altitude: | 1,450–2,000m (4,750–6,600ft) |
| Harvest: | September–December (main crop) March–June (mitaca crop) |
| Varieties: | 16% Typica, 62% Caturra, 22% Castillo |
TOLIMA
Tolima is among the last strongholds of Colombia’s notorious rebel group FARC, which had maintained control of the area until relatively recently. Tolima has suffered in recent years from the fighting, which has made access difficult. Quality coffees from this area tend to come from small farmers in very small micro-lots via cooperatives.
| Altitude: | 1,200–1,900m (3,900–6,200ft) |
| Harvest: | March–June (main crop) October–December (mitaca crop) |
| Varieties: | 9% Typica, 74% Caturra, 17% Castillo |
HUILA
The department of Huila has a combination of great soil and great geography for growing coffee, and some of the most complex, fruit-driven Colombian coffees I have tasted have come from here. The region has more than seventy thousand coffee growers, covering more than 16,000 hectares (39,500 acres) of land.
| Altitude: | 1,250–2,000m (4,100–6,600ft) |
| Harvest: | September–December (main crop) April–May (mitaca crop) |
| Varieties: | 11% Typica, 75% Caturra, 14% Castillo |
QUINDIO
Quindio is a small region in the centre of the country, just to the west of Bogotá. Coffee is an incredibly important part of the economy here, as the region suffers high levels of unemployment. However, the risks involved in growing coffee, due to the effects of climate change and the increased incidences of diseases affecting coffee plants, has led many farmers to grow citrus fruits and macadamia nuts instead.
Quindio is home to the National Coffee Park, a theme park based around coffee and coffee production. At the end of June each year, the municipality of Calarcá has, since 1960, hosted the National Coffee Party. This is a day of celebration around coffee, including a national beauty contest of coffee.
| Altitude: | 1,400–2,000m (4,600–6,600ft) |
| Harvest: | September–December (main crop) April–May (mitaca crop) |
| Varieties: | 14% Typica, 54% Caturra, 32% Castillo |
RISARALDA
This is another well-established coffee-producing region and here a large number of farmers belong to cooperatives. As a result, there has been some interest from ethical labelling organizations. Coffee plays an important social and economic role in the area, providing jobs and employment to many. While many people moved to the region in the 1920s, often to grow coffee, the recession at the turn of the millennium saw some wide-scale emigration back to other regions and other countries. The capital city is also a transport hub for the regions of Caldas and Quindio, and the interdepartmental road network is known as the Autopista del Café (Coffee Highway).
| Altitude: | 1,300–1,650m (4,300–5,400ft) |
| Harvest: | September–December (main crop) April–May (mitaca crop) |
| Varieties: | 6% Typica, 59% Caturra, 35% Castillo |
NARIÑO
Some of the highest coffees in Colombia are grown in Nariño, and they can also be some of the most stunning and complex. It is challenging to grow coffee at these high altitudes in many areas, as the plants suffer from ‘die back’. However, Nariño is close enough to the equator that the climate is sufficiently suitable for coffee plants. The vast majority of Nariño’s forty thousand producers are smallholders with less than 2 hectares (4.4 acres) each. Many have formed groups and institutions to provide each other with support and to interact with the FNC. In fact, the average farm size is less than 1 hectare (2.2 acres), and only 37 producers in the region own more than 5 hectares (11 acres) of land.
| Altitude: | 1,500–2,300m (4,900–7,500ft) |
| Harvest: | April–June |
| Varieties: | 54% Typica, 29% Caturra, 17% Castillo |
CALDAS
Along with Quindio and Riseralda, the state of Caldas is part of the Colombian Coffee-Growing Axis, or Coffee Triangle. Between them they grow a large portion of the nation’s coffee. Historically this was considered some of the best coffee in Colombia, but now other regions are more competitive on that front.
The region is also home to Cenicafé, the National Coffee Research Centre run by the FNC. It is considered to be one of the world’s leading institutions for research into all aspects of coffee production, and it is here that a number of varieties unique to Colombia (such as the disease-resistant Colombia and Castillo varieties) have been created.
| Altitude: | 1,300–1,800m (4,300–5,900ft) |
| Harvest: | September–December (main crop) April–May (mitaca crop) |
| Varieties: | 8% Typica, 57% Caturra, 35% Castillo |
ANTIOQUIA
This department is the birthplace of both coffee in Colombia and the FNC. This is a key growing region with around 128,000 hectares (316,000 acres) of coffee, the most of any region. The coffee is produced by a mixture of large estates and cooperatives of small producers.
| Altitude: | 1,300–2,200m (4,300–7,200ft) |
| Harvest: | September–December (main crop) April–May (mitaca crop) |
| Varieties: | 6% Typica, 59% Caturra, 35% Castillo |
CUNDINAMARCA
This department surrounds the capital city of Bogotá, one of the highest capital cities in the world at 2,625m (8,612ft) above sea level, higher than coffee would grow. This was the second region in Colombia to produce coffee for export, with its production peaking just before World War II. At that time it produced about ten per cent of the nation’s coffee, but the percentage has since declined. In the past this region had some very large estates, some with over one million coffee trees.
| Altitude: | 1,400–1,800m (4,600–5,900ft) |
| Harvest: | March–June (main crop) October–December (mitaca crop) |
| Varieties: | 35% Typica, 34% Caturra, 31% Castillo |
SANTANDER
This was one of the first regions in Colombia to produce coffee for export. The region has a little less altitude than some of the others, and this can often be detected in the coffees as they veer more towards round and sweet, rather than juicy and complex. A great deal of coffee from this region is certified by the Rainforest Alliance, and the biodiversity of the region is considered very important.
| Altitude: | 1,200–1,700m (3,900–5,600ft) |
| Harvest: | September–December |
| Varieties: | 15% Typica, 32% Caturra, 53% Castillo |
NORTH SANTANDER
In the north of the country, bordering Venezuela, this region was producing coffee very early on, and may have been the first area in Colombia to grow coffee.
| Altitude: | 1,300–1,800m (4,300–5,900ft) |
| Harvest: | September–December |
| Varieties: | 33% Typica, 34% Caturra, 33% Castillo |
SIERRA NEVADA
This is another region at lower altitudes, and again the coffees here tend to be heavier and rounder, rather than more elegant and lively. Coffee is grown on the Andean mountains in this area and the incredibly steep hillsides (ranging from fifty to eighty degrees) offer a particular challenge to the farmers. The name, a common one in many Spanish-speaking countries, translates as ‘snow-topped mountains’.
| Altitude: | 900–1,600m (3,000–5,200ft) |
| Harvest: | September–December |
| Varieties: | 6% Typica, 58% Caturra, 36% Castillo |