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Cultivation of Colombian Coffee Beans

Growing Regions and Harvest Seasons

Colombian coffee cultivation follows the Andes Mountains from south to north and is roughly divided into three regions: the Northern region (green), the Central region (orange, purple) and the Southern region (yellow). The orange and purple areas have primary and secondary harvest seasons, while the green and yellow areas have a single harvest season.

Harvest Seasons by Region

Because of the geographical and climatic differences from north to south, the northern and southern harvest seasons run opposite each other, while the central region has primary and secondary harvests depending on whether it leans north or south. The result is that coffee beans are produced year-round. Here we distinguish regions mainly by winter and summer harvest seasons.

Winter Harvest Season (September to December)

Included regions:

• Magdalena - Common varieties
• Santander
• Antioquia - Common varieties
• North of Santander
• Boyaca
• Meta

Central regions near the north have primary and secondary harvest seasons. The main harvest is in winter from September to December, with a secondary harvest in summer from April to May.

• Caldas
• Risaralda
• Cundinamarca (Some regions) - Emerging in the market
• Quindio (Some regions) - Emerging in the market
• Tolima (Some regions) - Rare common varieties

Central regions near the south have primary and secondary harvest seasons. The main harvest is in summer from March to June, with a secondary harvest in winter from October to November.

• Valle (Some regions) - Emerging in the market
• Quindio (Some regions)
• Cundinamarca (Some regions)
• Tolima (Some regions)

Summer Harvest Season (March to June)

Included regions:

• Valle (Some regions)
• Cauca - Rare common varieties
• Cundinamarca (Some regions)
• Huila - Elite common varieties
• Narino - Rare common varieties

Note: The harvest seasons mentioned here refer to the period when coffee cherries mature in the growing regions and undergo post-harvest processing. Typically, 2-3 months after this processing ends, the new-crop beans reach consumer markets.

Cultivation Characteristics

• Farming Structure: 95% of growers are small farmers with family plantations of less than 5 hectares
• Production: Small farming families produce an average of 25 bags annually, with each bag weighing 70kg
• Altitude: 1,000 - 2,500 meters
• Annual Rainfall: 1,000 - 2,500 millimeters
• Average Temperature: 15.8 - 20.5°C

Coffee Varieties

In addition to varieties common to American growing regions such as Caturra, Bourbon, Typica and Pacamara, Colombia has three unique disease-resistant varieties: Castillo, Tabi and the Colombia variety, which shares the country's name. There are also rare and precious varieties such as Gesha, small-grained Mocca, Rume Sudan, Eugenioides, Laurina (Bourbon Pointu) and Maragesa, a natural hybrid of Maragogipe and Gesha.

Shade Trees

In Colombian coffee regions, shade trees include lemon and orange trees. The lemons from these trees look particularly like oranges but taste extremely sour. Locals eat them with a strong liquor, a bit like drinking a cocktail, which is quite enjoyable.

Processing Methods

Washed processing is the primary method, though natural and honey processing are now emerging as well. In conventional washed processing, fermentation is typically dry fermentation in open environments. Recently, some techniques from wine processing have been introduced to coffee, using anaerobic and varying degrees of oxygen-controlled fermentation.

Drying Methods

After processing, drying methods include greenhouses (not as large as rural vegetable greenhouses, more like the size of a sunroom on a balcony), patios (an open area of concrete ground, with some recent use of wooden flooring), and mechanical dryers, which many small farmers have.

About FNC

Industry Chain

The Colombian coffee industry chain includes the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC), the Colombian National Coffee Research Center (CENICAFE), various regional coffee grower associations (Colombia has 32 Departments, 20 of which grow coffee), traders, international roasters, and all of you reading this text, our valued customers.

FNC's primary mission is to serve as the spokesperson for Colombian coffee, committing to buy from any coffee farmer willing to sell. FNC is not only an international ambassador for Colombian beans, marketing and promoting coffee in international markets and successfully creating the "Juan Valdez" image, but also invests significant human and material resources inside Colombia in farmer cultivation, production, management and sustainable operations.

Established in 1938, CENICAFE provides technical support to FNC, dedicated to coffee variety breeding and agricultural training for farmers' cultivation and production.

About Varieties

The early varieties cultivated in Colombia were old Typica and Bourbon, which began to be replaced by Caturra starting in 1970. Caturra not only yields more per plant than Typica and Bourbon, but its more compact tree form allows more plants per unit area.

Starting in 1961, CENICAFE began researching the Timor variety, of Robusta lineage, and subsequently bred Timor with Caturra to create Colombia's Catimor series. After 5 generations of breeding, CENICAFE released Colombia's first disease-resistant variety, "Colombia," in 1982. Following the leaf rust outbreak in 1983, the Colombia variety began to be widely promoted and planted.

CENICAFE continued its research and development, releasing the second disease-resistant variety Tabi, a hybrid of Typica, Bourbon and Timor, in 2002, and the most successful disease-resistant variety to date, Castillo, in 2005. After the massive leaf rust outbreak in 2008, Colombia began vigorously promoting Castillo cultivation.

Promotion and Support for the Castillo Variety

A 2012 Colombian coffee reform support loan program was created to promote small farmers' cultivation of the disease-resistant Castillo variety:

• A 7-year loan program
• Final repayment requires farmers to return only 60% of the principal, with the government covering the remaining 40% (for banks willing to participate)
• No repayment required for the first two years of the loan
• Starting from the third year, an annual interest rate of 11%, with repayments made after the harvest season when farmers have cash flow

Farmers' decision to switch to Castillo is entirely voluntary, and the programs above apply only to Castillo cultivation trials.

The latest news is that in December 2016, CENICAFE released a new disease-resistant variety, "CENICAFE 1," also a hybrid of Caturra and Timor (1343), with flavor quality as excellent as Castillo but higher yield, able to resist both leaf rust and coffee berry borer.

About Processing Methods

Most Colombian coffee beans are washed processed. Each small farming family has a small specialized processor, an Ecomill or Eco-Pulper. Harvested cherries are poured in, which removes the skin and pulp along with most of the mucilage while using very little water. The parchment beans with residual mucilage then go into a small pool or container, possibly a concrete pool (some tiled) or a stainless steel barrel, for overnight fermentation to loosen the rest of the mucilage. The next day they are rinsed with clean water, completing the washed processing.

Drying Process

Depending on the weather, natural sun drying is preferred when conditions are good. Those with the means have a small shelter where beans are spread on wooden racks for shade drying; otherwise they are spread on an open concrete surface. If the weather is poor with continuous rain, mechanical dryers are used, with inlet temperature control typically set around 50°C.

About Coffee Competitions

Colombia's international coffee competitions have had two formats from 2005 to the present:

• 2005-2015: Cup of Excellence (CoE)
• 2016 onwards: Colombia organized its first international coffee competition, named "LAND OF DIVERSITY," and held the first live auction. The new format differs significantly from CoE rules.

The competition is divided into small batch and large batch categories, marking the first time large batches were included in the auction system. Small batches start at $5/lb, while large batches start at $2/lb.

The competition evaluates and classifies coffees by attributes, assessing small batch coffees across four attribute categories. Each coffee can be nominated in one or more categories and win the championship award for that category.

The four attribute categories are acidity, body, balance and mildness.

Colombian Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Colombian coffee is fully guaranteed in both brand and quality. More importantly, it provides exceptional value: a 227 gram box costs only 95 yuan. At 15 grams of ground coffee per cup, one package makes 15 cups, putting each cup at only about 6 yuan. Against coffee shops selling cups for dozens of yuan each, this is a genuinely conscientious recommendation.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Colombian coffee is remarkably versatile. It works in an espresso blend or as a single-origin pour-over, covering fruity, full-bodied and aroma-forward styles, which is why it suits such a wide range of drinkers. For a first look at the country, FrontStreet Washed Huila is the classic choice. Huila province in the southern Central Cordillera is Colombia's most famous specialty region, a land of hills ringed by mountains with cultivation above 1500 meters, where the country's most important rivers meet and bring abundant water and humidity. Given a medium-dark roast, it highlights dark chocolate, nutty sweetness, moderate crema and a mellow body, and it works in a pour-over or French press as well as in a moka pot or espresso machine for an Americano or a latte.

Colombia has also embraced more experimental processing in recent years. Anaerobic fermentation, sometimes called carbonic maceration, is a low-oxygen or oxygen-free fermentation usually carried out in a pressure-resistant stainless steel tank where temperature, time, pH and other data can be controlled. The best-known styles are anaerobic natural and anaerobic washed. FrontStreet Finca Fenjiexian Xizhua uses the anaerobic natural method: after oxygen-free fermentation the coffee develops more tropical fruit aroma, and at a medium-light roast it shows passion fruit, grape, apricot and dried fruit in a pour-over, cold brew, drip bag or moka pot.

For anyone with a home espresso machine or a moka pot, baristas strongly recommend FrontStreet Specialty Blend, an espresso blend built with coffee shops in mind. It combines Brazil's creamy nut flavor with Colombia's dark chocolate bittersweetness, and pulls with a fine golden crema. Paired with milk it makes a rich, smooth latte, and it is friendly to beginners as a base for an Americano, cappuccino, mocha or other standard espresso drinks.