How Did Arabica Bean Farming Take Hold in Colombia?

Colombia is the third-largest coffee producer and the largest processor of washed Arabica, with specialty grades making up about 40% of exports. Coffee reached Colombian soil in the 19th century, when Don Mariano Ospina Rodriguez planted an experimental plot in Fredonia, Antioquia in 1835 and later taught growing techniques to local farmers.

The National Federation of Coffee Growers, founded in 1927, helped organize the sector around smallholder farms. That base now supports specialty varieties such as Sidra, grown at estates like Finca El Diviso, whose washed lots show bright acidity, red fruit, and a sweet finish in pour-over brewing with a medium-light roast.

Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee-producing country and the largest processor of washed Arabica, with specialty-grade beans accounting for 40% of its exports. From Don Mariano's establishment of the first experimental plantation in the 19th century, to the founding of the National Federation of Coffee Growers in 1927, and to the rise of the Sidra variety from specialty estates on the international stage, Colombian coffee has walked a path of specialization supported by smallholder farmers. In this article, Front Street Coffee provides a comprehensive overview of Colombian coffee—from its historical development and producing regions to the characteristics of the Sidra variety and the cultivation story of Finca El Diviso—along with the pour-over parameters and flavor description for Front Street's Sidra coffee beans.

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Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee-producing country and the largest processor of washed Arabica beans, with specialty-grade coffee now accounting for as much as 40% of its exports. Colombian coffee beans can be found on the menus of many cafés, and Front Street's stores also offer a variety of beans for pour-over brewing, including Rose Valley, Flower Moon Night, Big Belly, Sidra, and Huila.

Today, Front Street will start from Colombia's coffee-growing history and take you through the landscape of this great specialty coffee nation.

History of Colombian Coffee

According to information reviewed by Front Street, the introduction of coffee to Colombian soil dates back to the 19th century. Don Mariano Ospina Rodriguez was one of the earliest pioneers to carry out coffee cultivation experiments in Colombia.

In 1835, he established a coffee experimental plantation in Fredonia, Antioquia. Drawing on his deep knowledge and experience in coffee cultivation, Don Mariano began teaching and promoting coffee-growing techniques to local farmers.

In 1857, Don Mariano was successfully elected President of Colombia.

In 1879, the Colombian government passed the Coffee Act to promote the development of the coffee industry.

In 1880, Don Mariano published the country's first textbook on coffee cultivation, titled Coffee Cultivation: Basic Concepts Every Farmer Can Master. Shortly thereafter, the price of Colombian coffee on the New York market climbed from 10.6 cents per pound in 1887 to 18.8 cents per pound in 1893.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Colombian government implemented land reforms to provide support for small producers. Front Street believes that the success of Colombia's coffee industry is inseparable from the marketing and promotion efforts of the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC).

In 1927, the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia was established in Medellín. This is a union organization that brings together 560,000 coffee-producing families from 590 municipalities across 22 departments nationwide. The first FNC chairman was Luis Mariano Ospina Pérez, grandson of President Mariano. Under Ospina's leadership, the FNC successfully stabilized the domestic coffee industry and achieved great success in international markets. This initiative turned coffee into Colombia's main export crop and completely transformed the country's economic landscape.

Colombian Coffee-Producing Regions

Colombia is located in northern South America. On a map, the country's coffee-growing areas follow the Andes Mountains, extending from south to north, with production concentrated mainly in the western part of the country. Due to the wide distribution of growing areas, different geographical conditions and climatic characteristics create different coffee production seasons, and Colombia can be said to harvest coffee year-round.

Colombian coffee is grown at high altitudes, between 1,000 and 2,500 meters. Influenced by the complex terrain of the Andes, the region has diverse microclimates, abundant rainfall, and year-round temperatures averaging around 18 degrees Celsius, providing excellent conditions for coffee tree growth. This is the primary reason for Colombia's outstanding coffee quality. Between 30% and 40% of the country's rural population depends on coffee production for their livelihood, and local agriculture operates on a small-farm model, with coffee cultivation being no exception. Farms are typically only about two hectares in size, and farmers carefully tend the plants on their land, planting tall trees or banana trees around the coffee trees to provide shade.

Geographically, Colombia's coffee-growing regions can be divided into three production areas: north, central, and south, with specialty beans mainly coming from the south. Below, Front Street introduces several of the more representative regions: Huila, Cauca, Nariño, and Santander.

Representative Colombian Specialty Coffee Estate — Sidra

At the 2022 World Barista Championship, champion barista Anthony Douglas chose Colombian Sidra coffee beans for his competition. Coincidentally, the 2019 World Barista Champion Jooyeon Jeon also chose Sidra coffee (though produced in Ecuador). This drew attention to what exactly Sidra coffee is.

After reviewing the materials, Front Street found that Sidra coffee originally comes from Pichincha Province, Ecuador, where it is locally called Sydra. According to the records, Sidra is a laboratory variety developed by crossing Typica with Red Bourbon. Later, through genetic comparison, it was found that Sidra shares similar genes with Ethiopian landraces, leading some scholars to speculate that Sidra was developed by crossing an experimental research variety exported from Ethiopia with local Bourbon coffee varieties in Ecuador. Currently, the Sidra variety is mainly distributed in producing countries such as Ecuador and Colombia.

After Anthony Douglas brought it to prominence in competition, people began searching for the beans used by the champion barista. The Sidra coffee beans Anthony used came from Finca El Diviso in the Huila region of Colombia.

Where Is Finca El Diviso?

Finca El Diviso is located in Huila, one of Colombia's most renowned coffee-producing regions, at an altitude of about 2,100 meters, covering 14 hectares. This is a family-run coffee estate founded by Jose Uribe Lasso in 1996, with more than 25 years of coffee-growing experience to date.

The estate is currently operated mainly by Nestor Lasso. He is young and full of drive. His grandfather introduced him to the vast world of coffee, and his father inherited the farm and was even more skilled in coffee cultivation. Influenced by his family, Nestor has continuously refined his skills in coffee cultivation and processing, growing twelve bean varieties including Caturra, Colombia, Sidra, Castillo, Geisha, and Bourbon.

Nestor's family manages the estate together, and the quality of the coffee beans has continued to improve, bringing Nestor greater returns. They successfully established a new large farm to grow and produce higher-quality coffee beans, and they continue to strive toward becoming a great family estate.

For Nestor, Finca El Diviso is a fortunate new starting point. He believes that the land in Huila is very fertile, and that anyone who is hardworking and willing can escape poverty by growing coffee crops in this nutrient-rich soil.

What Are the Characteristics of Front Street's Sidra Coffee?

Although genetic testing shows that Sidra has a genetic connection to Ethiopian coffee varieties, it is currently grown mainly in Colombia and Ecuador, at altitudes between 1,650 and 1,800 meters. In addition, some producing regions also cultivate small amounts of Sidra for experimental purposes.

The Sidra plant has a thick trunk and can grow up to 4 meters tall. It requires appropriate shade when planted and is immune to many pests, but is susceptible to leaf rust and coffee berry disease. The leaves are slender, and the flowers have five petals. The fruit sets densely, resulting in high yields, and the cherries are larger and rounder than most Arabica varieties; the green beans are slender and elongated, somewhat similar to Geisha.

Given that Sidra is still grown in relatively small quantities and possesses floral and fruity characteristics comparable to Geisha—expressing flavors of peach, citrus, grape, and honey, with moderate acidity and a rounded mouthfeel—its price is also relatively high.

Front Street has also introduced Sidra coffee beans from Finca El Diviso. These beans undergo double anaerobic washed processing, which highlights the coffee's rich acidity. Front Street uses a medium-light roast, and the cupping flavor profile shows rich fruit notes such as apricot, citrus, and grape.

Front Street Sidra Coffee Bean Pour-Over Parameters

Dose: 15g

Ratio: 1:15

Water temperature: 91°C

Grind size: medium-fine (80% passing through a No. 20 sieve)

Pouring method: three-stage

For the first stage, pour 30ml for a 30-second bloom. For the second stage, pour 120ml in a slow circular motion. When the water level drops to the halfway point, pour 90ml in a slow circular motion for the third stage. The extraction time is 2 minutes.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.