Colombia coffee

Colombia is a rather large country and is the world's third largest producer of coffee, so it is difficult to describe a Colombian coffee as if there is only one type, a common characteristic is the contained acidity, as for the character there is who defines them as full-bodied and who as delicate and fruity but lively.

History of coffee production in Colombia

The history of coffee in Colombia is similar to that of other Latin American countries. It arrived with the conquistadors and the Jesuit missionaries tried to introduce its cultivation (according to some sources, the year of arrival would be 1723), also in consideration of the growing value it was acquiring in Europe, even if it had no appeal among the local populations. But it is only around the 1830s that production really begins to expand in various regions of the country and to appear for export. By the end of the century, the export of coffee had already become the main source of income for the Colombian economy. In the 20th century, also in this case similarly to other American states, the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC) was created as a reaction to the crisis in the world coffee market. The aim was to concentrate them in order to increase their strength and watch over their rights. The Centro Nacional de Investigaciones de Café (Cenicafé) was born from the Federation of Colombian farmers, which obviously deals with the technical aspects to improve production, for example to develop varieties more resistant to roja, the coffee rust. As we anticipated in terms of production quantity, Colombia is today the third country in the world (according to data released in 2018 by the International Coffee Organization, production amounted to 810,000 tons), the coffee that is produced is almost completely Arabica and is considered a quality coffee .

The quality of Colombian coffee

As anticipated in the introductory paragraph, speaking of Colombian coffee as if there were only one type is risky since it is a fairly large country that produces it in many different regions. On the other hand, the environmental conditions of many of these areas are similar, most of the Colombian coffee is grown between 1200 and 1700 meters, therefore some traits emerge that are common to most of the Colombian coffees, the acidity is contained even if the he drying is carried out with the washed method which tends to increase the acidity (because the grain is left to dry already cleaned of the fruit pulp and therefore does not absorb the sugars which counteract the natural acidity of the seed), the aroma is fruity and sweet with floral hints. The most important regions for coffee production in Colombia are: Antioquia, Cauca, Santander, Narino, Tolima, Huila. Antioquia is the region from which coffee growing in Colombia started, this is where FNC and Cenicafé are based and therefore it is the area where you experiment on the plantations. Huila is a mountainous region in southern Colombia crossed by the Andes, to be precise by the Eastern Cordillera, the coffees of this area are the slightly more acidic and full-bodied ones. Also in the south, very close to the equator, the Narino region is famous for creamy and fruity coffees. Narino is also partly crossed by the Andes but overlooks the sea