Where Do Colombia's Arabica Beans Come From?

Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee exporter and the largest exporter of arabica beans and washed beans. Production centers on the Andes, where volcanic soil and family-run farms shape the cup. Key regions include Santander, Antioquia, Tolima, Huila, Cauca, and Narino, and Colombian coffee is known for a silky, balanced taste that suits drinking at any time.

Coffee reached Colombia in 1808 through a priest who brought it from the French Antilles via Venezuela, and plantings later shifted to the western mountains after civil unrest. The FNC and CENICAFE support growers through research and grading standards, while competitions such as the Cup of Excellence in Cauca reward quality at the coffee farm level.

Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee exporter and the largest exporter of Arabica beans and washed beans, hailed as "green gold." This article systematically outlines Colombia's coffee-producing regions, harvest season patterns, main varieties, and processing methods, and introduces representative regions such as Santander, Antioquia, Tolima, Huila, Cauca, and Narino one by one. Colombian coffee is known for its silky, balanced taste, and family-run operations and volcanic soil give it a unique quality. The article also covers the functions of FNC and CENICAFE, green bean grading standards, and competition mechanisms such as the Cup of Excellence in Cauca, making it suitable for coffee enthusiasts to gain a comprehensive understanding of Colombian coffee's terroir and the industry as a whole.

| Region Introduction

Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee exporter, mainly producing Arabica coffee, and it is also the country that exports the most Arabica beans. Colombia is rich in resources; in particular, coffee, flowers, gold, and emeralds are known as its "four treasures." Colombia is located in the northwest of the South American continent and borders Panama in Central America. Seen from an overhead view, its western side looks as if it has been scratched by a cat; from north to south, three vertical claw marks are left behind. The country's famous producing regions are scattered among these Andes mountain ranges with fertile volcanic soil.

In 1808, a priest first introduced coffee into Colombia from the French Antilles via Venezuela. Today the country is the second-largest coffee producer after Brazil, the world's largest exporter of Arabica coffee beans, and also the world's largest exporter of washed coffee beans. Colombian coffee is often described as having a silky, smooth mouthfeel. Among all coffees, it has the best balance, with a soft, smooth texture, and can be drunk at any time. It has earned praise beyond what other coffees can achieve: it is hailed as "green gold."

Volcanic Soil + Family-Style Management

It is said that coffee was introduced by missionaries in 1730 from Venezuela and planted in the country's southeast. Later, due to civil war and political conditions, it gradually shifted to the western mountainous areas. Under the ideal growing environment of high altitude and volcanic soil, Colombian coffee has been praised by high-end consumers in the United States and Japan since the 1940s, and the cherries must be fully ripe before they can be picked by hand. They cherish the land they live on, and from choosing fertilizer to clearing land, they do things in moderation, so the soil is less prone to fatigue.

In addition to coffee, locals also plant tall trees or banana trees around the coffee trees. During the seedling stage, shade sheds are built for the coffee trees to ensure the cool, humid environment needed for coffee growth. Because the humidity inside the coffee grove is high and the temperature difference is small, the coffee beans mature slowly. In addition to innate conditions, there is another main reason Colombian coffee is superior to Brazilian coffee: family-style management. They do not have heavy machinery for harvesting and irrigation, nor spare money to hire workers, so all coffee cherries are beneficial for the accumulation of caffeine and aromatic substances, thus giving the best coffee quality.

| Producing Regions and Harvest Seasons

Due to Colombia's latitudinal span of producing regions and the influence of the Andes' topography, the country is divided from south to north into three major regions: the north, the center, and the south. The harvest seasons in the south and north are relatively distinct, while the center, depending on whether it is more northerly or southerly, has a main and secondary harvest season respectively. There are two harvest seasons a year: the main harvest season is from October to January, and the secondary harvest season is from April to July.

Colombia's coffee-growing distribution follows the Andes mountain range. From south to north, it is roughly divided into the northern producing region (green), the central producing region (orange, purple), and the southern producing region (yellow). The orange and purple areas have both main and secondary harvest seasons, while the green and yellow areas have one harvest season.

Harvest Season [Varies by Region]

Due to differences in geographical and climatic characteristics from north to south, the harvest seasons in the north and south are exactly opposite, while the center, depending on whether it is more southerly or northerly, also has different main and secondary harvest seasons. It can be said that beans are produced throughout the year. Here we mainly distinguish regions by winter harvest season and summer harvest season.

The winter harvest season runs from September to December and includes the following areas:

Magdalena 玛格达莱纳 Common item

Santander 桑坦德

Antioquia 安迪奥奎亚 Common item

North of Santander 桑坦德北部

Boyaca 博雅卡

Meta 麦塔

The central areas near the north have both main and secondary harvest seasons. The main harvest season is winter, from September to December, and the secondary harvest season is summer, between April and May.

Caldas 卡尔达斯

Risaralada 里萨拉拉达

Part of Cundinamarca 昆蒂娜玛卡 Some areas are beginning to emerge in the market

Part of Quinido 金迪奥 Some areas are beginning to emerge in the market

Part of Tolima 托里玛 A very, very, very hardcore common item

The central areas near the south have both main and secondary harvest seasons. The main harvest season is summer, from March to June, and the secondary harvest season is winter, from October to November.

Part of Valle 瓦耶 Some areas are beginning to emerge in the market

Part of Quindio 金迪奥

Part of Cundinamarca 昆蒂娜玛卡

Part of Tolima 托里玛

The summer harvest season runs from March to June and includes the following areas:

Part of Valle 瓦耶

Cauca 考卡 Second-tier hardcore common

Part of Cundinamarca 昆蒂娜玛卡

Huila 惠兰 Hardcore common

Narino 娜玲珑 Very, very hardcore common

Note: The harvest season mentioned here refers to the stage in the producing region when the coffee cherries mature, are harvested, and then undergo post-processing. Usually, only 2-3 months after this stage ends will beans from the truly new harvest season arrive at our consumer end.

| Coffee Varieties

In addition to the varieties commonly seen in the Americas such as Caturra, Bourbon, Typica, and Pacamara, Colombia also has three disease-resistant varieties unique to itself, namely Castillo, Tabi, and the Colombia variety that shares the country's name; of course, there are also some rare and precious varieties such as Geisha, the small-beaned Mocca, Rume Sudan, Eugenioides, Laurina (pointed bourbon), and Maraguesa (a natural hybrid of Maragogipe and Geisha).

At a Colombian coffee festival, I was fortunate enough to drink a Pink Bourbon that beat many Colombian Geishas, and only then did I learn that such an extraordinary coffee variety exists. To put it simply, Bourbon is a coffee tree species belonging to a branch of the Arabica species, usually bearing red fruit, called Red Bourbon. In addition, there are Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yield, but better quality.

Some experts say that the Pink Bourbon of Colombian Geisha is not Bourbon.

Recently, there is also a Colombian natural-process bean called Wush Wush. Natural-process beans are rarely seen in Colombia. See the post [There is a bean that has become popular... Is Wush Wush a coffee variety or a coffee-producing place?]

The varieties planted in Colombia in the early period were old Typica and Bourbon, and starting in 1970 they began to be replaced by Caturra; Caturra is not only higher-yielding per plant than Typica and Bourbon, but because its tree shape is more compact, more can be planted per unit area.

Starting in 1961, CENICAFE began researching the Timor variety, which has Robusta lineage. It then bred the Colombian Catimor series from Timor and Caturra. After five generations of selection, in 1982 CENICAFE released Colombia, the country's first disease-resistant cultivated variety. Then, after leaf rust appeared in 1983, the Colombia variety began to be promoted and planted on a large scale.

CENICAFE then continued its research and development. In 2002 it released its second disease-resistant variety, Tabi (a hybrid of Typica, Bourbon, and Timor), and in 2005 it released Castillo, by far its most successful disease-resistant variety. After leaf rust broke out massively in 2008, Colombia began vigorously promoting the planting of Castillo.

| Processing Methods

Most Colombian coffee is washed. Each smallholder family has a small specially made processing machine (Ecomill or Eco-Pulper). The harvested coffee cherries are poured into it, which not only removes the skin and pulp but also removes most of the mucilage, and only a very small amount of water is needed; next, the parchment beans still carrying a small amount of residual mucilage enter a small tank or container, which may be a cement tank (some tiled), or may be a stainless steel barrel, and are left overnight to ferment, loosening the remaining mucilage. The next day they are rinsed with clean water, and the washing process is complete.

Drying depends on the weather. If the weather is good, of course the first choice is natural sun-drying. If conditions allow, there will be a small shed, and the beans are spread on wooden racks to dry in the shade; otherwise, they are spread on an empty cement floor to dry; if the weather is bad and it is continuous rain, then a dryer is used. Dryers all have an inlet temperature control, usually at about 50 degrees Celsius.

| Coffee-Producing Regions

Colombia is best known for producing regions such as Medellin, Armenia, and Manizales, conventionally collectively referred to as "MAM."

Colombia's specialty coffee-producing regions are mainly in the south, at altitudes above 1,500 meters, including San Augustin in Huila, Popayan in Cauca, Narino, and Tolima. The products from these places all have refined acidity and berry aromas, as well as caramel aroma, and are full of sweetness.

From north to south, Colombia's producing regions are:

Santander/North of Santander 桑坦德及桑坦德北部

The Santander producing region is a famous region in northern Colombia, bordering the Magdalena River to the west, with a growing altitude of about 1,400-1,600 meters. Coffee beans from this region are known for their strong taste, long finish, and unique fresh herbal flavor.

Antioquia 安提奥基亚

Antioquia is located in north-central Colombia, with 126,000 hectares of coffee cultivation. The coffee beans it produces account for 18% of Colombia's output, second only to Huila. Most of the province is mountainous terrain belonging to the Andes, but it is brushed by the warm sea breezes of the Caribbean. The provincial capital Medellin is Colombia's second-largest city, and this is also an important coffee-producing region in Colombia.

Tolima 托利马

Tolima is adjacent to Huila and Cauca. Here the north-south-running Andes (M. Andes) and Cordillera (M. Cordillera) run through, and between the two famous mountain systems lies the Magdalena River (R. Magdalena), which runs from south to north.

The name Tolima comes from the earliest people who lived here, the "Pijao people." In the language of this ancient group (Pijao word), Tolima means "snow-covered," "snowed." Farms in Tolima are generally slightly larger than farms in other southern Colombian producing regions, at about 10-15 hectares. Cooperative methods are also common here, with farmers sending their small batches of coffee cherries to the cooperative's processing plant. Some farmers also choose to process it themselves, using their own small-scale processing facilities capable of handling the amount picked that day.

Huila 慧兰

Huila is located in the southern part of Colombia's Central Cordillera and is the country's most famous specialty coffee-producing region. This area is hilly land surrounded by mountains, with a planting altitude above 1,500 meters. Colombia's most important rivers converge here, bringing quite abundant water resources and moisture.

In contrast to the general impression of mass-market Colombian coffee as balanced and smooth, many Colombian specialty coffees produced in smallholder micro-lots actually have strong regional flavor characteristics. In recent years, as the international market has placed greater importance on coffee quality and demanded specialty coffee, the previous system of grading by bean size has gradually been abandoned in favor of micro-regional selections provided by smallholder coffee producers, with dozens of smallholders contributing their individual harvests to be consolidated into a micro-lot for sale. As a result, there are more opportunities to directly select many specific smallholder coffees of excellent quality through lot-by-lot cupping.

Cauca 考卡

Cauca is a region with Colombian coffee origin certification. Its average altitude is 1,758 m, and the highest altitude can rise to 2,100 m. The region's topography, rainfall, temperature, and volcanic soil provide suitable conditions for coffee growth. Eighty percent is mountainous, with parallel mountain systems in the east and center that are part of the Andes. The central mountain system includes two main volcanoes, Sotara and Petacas. On its border, Cauca is similar to other southwestern producing regions, with rainfall showing a clear monomodal distribution. The dry season mainly occurs from August to September each year, and the subsequent rainy season brings a concentrated coffee flowering season, followed by a concentrated coffee harvest season the next year.

Cauca is a region with Colombian coffee origin certification. Its average altitude is 1,758 m, and the highest altitude can rise to 2,100 m. The region's topography, rainfall, temperature, and volcanic soil provide suitable conditions for coffee growth. Eighty percent is mountainous, with parallel mountain systems in the east and center that are part of the Andes. The central mountain system includes two main volcanoes, Sotara and Petacas. On its border, Cauca is similar to other southwestern producing regions, with rainfall showing a clear monomodal distribution. The dry season mainly occurs from August to September each year, and the subsequent rainy season brings a concentrated coffee flowering season, followed by a concentrated coffee harvest season the next year.

The biggest climatic difference from other producing regions is probably the relatively large temperature difference. The average daily temperature is 11°C, while the average daytime temperature is 18°C. The day-night temperature difference is an important factor in producing high-quality coffee. The low nighttime temperatures and relatively higher altitude slow the pace of coffee growth, allowing the coffee seeds and beans to more fully absorb the nutrients of the coffee cherries, and also creating Cauca coffee's better acidity and much-praised special sweetness.

What Is the Cauca Best Cup?

Since 2014, there has been an auction event like the Cauca Best Cup, jointly organized by well-known American traders, local exporters, and the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation. The first Cauca Best Cup in 2014 received about 200 competition samples, while in 2015 the number more than doubled, with about 500 smallholders competing in the contest. The organizers selected the top 30 from more than 500 samples, and then an international jury cupped and selected the final top 12. On the last day of the event, green coffee buyers, roasters, and others from around the world who came to participate in the Cauca Cup placed bids.

Competition events like the Cauca Cup really are helpful in substance. Not only have they greatly increased smallholders' incomes and given them the opportunity to improve their living conditions, but they also make them more willing to invest in and refine their coffee cultivation and production, producing higher-quality coffee.

Local judges evaluated 500 participating lots and, after four rounds of cupping, selected 30 lots to enter the finals. Thirty international judges then conducted two more rounds of cupping to determine the final top ten.

Narino 娜玲珑

Narino is located in the southwest of the country, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the west and Ecuador to the south. The Andes run through the entire province. Coffee is grown in the high-altitude cloud belt at 1,600-2,300 meters. The soil is fertile volcanic geology. The beans are smaller in shape but plump, with an emerald green color. The vast majority of Narino's annual output is purchased by large American bean traders.

Narino is located in southwestern Colombia, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the west and adjacent to neighboring Ecuador to the south. The Andes run through the province. Here there are magnificent mountains and beautiful scenery, and many rivers pass through the region and flow southward. It belongs to Colombia's high-mountain coffee-growing areas and has nurtured many smallholders producing specialty coffee. Narino's total annual output is about 150,000 bags, while the portion belonging to carefully selected beans is only about 6,000 bags.

| Coffee Grading

Colombian green coffee beans are graded by bean size. Supremo is the highest grade at 17 screen and above, followed by Excelso at 16 to 14 screen.

| FNC

The Colombian Coffee Growers Federation FNC includes the National Coffee Research Center CENICAFE, regional coffee producer associations in various places (Colombia has 32 regional Departments, 20 of which have coffee cultivation), traders, international roasters, and so on.

The FNC's greatest purpose is to serve as the spokesperson for Colombian coffee, promising that as long as coffee farmers are willing to sell coffee, the FNC is willing to buy it. The FNC not only acts as an international ambassador for Colombian coffee and promotes coffee marketing in the international market, successfully creating the image of "Juan Valdez"; it has also invested a great deal of manpower and material resources in Colombia itself to participate in farmers' cultivation and production, management, and sustainable operations.

CENICAFE was established in 1938. As FNC's technical support, it is dedicated to coffee variety selection and breeding and to agronomic training for farmers' cultivation and production.

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