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Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange More coffee bean information Please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account cafe_style) About the cultivation of Colombian coffee beans Cultivation areas and harvest seasons Colombian coffee bean cultivation is distributed along the Andes Mountains, from south to north, roughly divided into northern production area (green), central production area (orange, purple) and southern production area (yellow), its

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Cultivation of Colombian Coffee Beans

Growing Regions and Harvest Seasons

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

Harvest Seasons by Region

Due to the geographical and climatic differences from north to south, the northern and southern harvest seasons are opposite, while the central region has primary and secondary harvest seasons depending on whether it leans more north or south. This means coffee beans are produced year-round. Here we mainly distinguish regions by winter harvest season and summer harvest season.

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 season is winter from September to December, with a secondary harvest season 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 season is summer from March to June, with a secondary harvest season 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 stage ends, the actual new harvest season beans will 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 common varieties in American growing regions such as Caturra, Bourbon, Typica, and Pacamara, Colombia also has three unique disease-resistant varieties: Castillo, Tabi, and the Colombia variety (sharing the same name as the country). There are also some rare and precious varieties like Gesha, small-grained Mocca, Rume Sudan, Eugenioides, Laurina (Bourbon Pointu), and Maragesa (a natural hybrid of Maragogipe and Gesha).

Shade Trees

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

Processing Methods

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

Drying Methods

After processing, drying methods include greenhouses (not as large as our rural vegetable cultivation greenhouses - think 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 (many small farmers have these).

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 purchase coffee from any coffee farmer willing to sell. FNC not only acts as an international ambassador for Colombian coffee beans, marketing and promoting coffee in international markets and successfully creating the "Juan Valdez" image, but also invests significant human and material resources in Colombia to participate in farmer cultivation, production, management, and sustainable operations.

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

About Varieties

Early varieties cultivated in Colombia were old Typica and Bourbon, which began to be replaced by Caturra starting in 1970. Caturra not only yields higher 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 (Robusta lineage), subsequently breeding 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.

Subsequently, 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 Castillo Variety

This describes a 2012 Colombian coffee reform support loan program for promoting 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% (banks willing to participate)
No repayment required for the first two years of the loan
Starting from the third year, annual interest rate of 11%, with repayments made after the harvest season when farmers have cash flow

Of course, farmers' decision to switch to Castillo cultivation is entirely voluntary, and the above programs only apply 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, capable of resisting 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 (Ecomill or Eco-Pulper). Harvested coffee cherries are poured into it, which not only removes the skin and pulp but also removes most of the mucilage, requiring very little water. Next, the parchment beans with residual mucilage enter a small pool or container - possibly a concrete pool (some tiled) or a stainless steel barrel - for overnight fermentation to loosen the remaining mucilage. The next day, they are rinsed with clean water, completing the washed processing.

Drying Process

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

About Coffee Competitions

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

2005-2015: Cup of Excellence (CoE)
2016 onwards: Colombia organized its first international coffee competition, named "LAND OF DIVERSITY," and conducted the first live auction. The new competition format has significant changes compared to 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 5 attribute categories. Each coffee can be nominated in one or multiple categories and win the championship award for that category.

The 5 attribute categories are: Acidity, Body, Balance, and Mildness.

Colombian Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Colombian coffee beans offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they provide exceptional value - a 227-gram box costs only 95 yuan. Calculating at 15 grams of coffee powder per cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, costing only about 6 yuan per cup. Compared to coffee shops selling cups for dozens of yuan each, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.