Let's enjoy the coffee producing area of Colombia!

People who like to drink single beans like to drink Colombian coffee very much. Super Colombian coffee has a rich and thick aroma. It does not taste as strong as Brazilian coffee, nor does it have an obvious sour tone like African coffee. But with clear high-quality acidity, high balance, sometimes with nutty flavor, memorable, whether in appearance, quality, Columbia super is quite good Just like the faint charm of a woman, charming and just right, people miss.

Colombia is located in northwestern South America, bordered by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Panama in the northwest, Venezuela in the east, Brazil in the southeast, Peru in the south and Guadore in the southwest.

In 1808, a priest introduced coffee to Colombia for the first time from the French Antilles via Venezuela. It is the second largest coffee producer after Brazil, the world's largest exporter of Arabica coffee beans and the world's largest exporter of washed coffee beans.

Colombian coffee is one of the few original coffee sold in the world under the name of the country. In terms of quality, it has won praise unmatched by other coffee, and has its own coffee spokesman image "Uncle Juan".

When it comes to the image of "Uncle Juan", let's break down this symbol.

The triangle in the background, which symbolizes the Andes, the main coffee producing areas of Colombia are located in three mountains arranged with the word "Sichuan", all of which are part of the Andes.

A mule, in Colombia, coffee farmers actually use mules to carry coffee from the mountains. Because the mountain roads in Colombian coffee-growing areas are not easy to walk, coffee farmers mostly use mules as a means of transportation. even in today's advanced means of transportation and science and technology, there is no way to transport raw coffee on these difficult and rugged mountain roads, so they have been transported by camels.

The man in the straw hat is Juan Valdez, who is used to calling him "Uncle Juan Valdez (JUAN VALDEZ)". Juan Valdez is the representative image of Colombian coffee growers and a symbol of Colombian coffee, which distinguishes it from coffee from other countries of origin and is accepted by different markets. In the last 40 years, Colombian coffee growers have made great efforts to create the "JUAN VALDEZ" brand we see today.

| | planting climate and season |

Colombia's geographical environment, beautiful mountains and rivers, beautiful scenery, pleasant climate, spring all year round, fresh air, refreshing. Colombia's mild climate, humid air, and diverse climate make it a harvest season all year round, with different kinds of coffee ripening at different times. What they grow is Arabica coffee beans of unique quality, and the coffee made from this coffee bean has a rich taste and endless aftertaste, which can be called fine coffee. Nowadays, many people equate "Colombian coffee" with "high quality" and "good taste".

The latitude span of the Colombian producing area and the topographic influence of the Andes are divided into three regions from south to north, northern, central, and southern; the northern part of the south has a distinct production season, and the central part has two primary and secondary seasons according to the north or the south, respectively. there are two harvest seasons in a year, the main season is from October to January, and the secondary season is from April to July.

Columbus coffee cultivation is distributed along the Andes Mountains, from south to north, roughly divided into northern producing areas (green), central producing areas (orange, purple) and southern producing areas (yellow), in which orange-purple areas have primary and secondary production seasons. green and yellow areas have one season.

North District

In northern Colombia, you will find coffee production divisions in Santander, North Santander, LaGuaxilla, Magdalena and Cesar Santander, Norte de Santander, La Guajira, Magdalena, and Cesar.

The region has only one dry season each year-December to March and one rainy season-April to November. Coffee blossoms in March, followed by the rainy season and harvested in October / November.

Central-northern and south-central regions

In the north-central and south-central regions of Colombia, there are producing areas of southern Antioquia, Boyaca, Caldas, Choco, Risalda, Jindio, the northern part of the Cauca Valley, Cundinamaka and northern Tolima.

These regions have two dry seasons and two rainy seasons each year: the dry season from December to February and June to September, and the rainy season from March to May and September to November, resulting in two annual coffee harvesting seasons in the region.

In the north-central region, they have a major harvest season from October to December after the end of the second rainy season. However, after the end of the first rainy season, they will have a smaller harvest in May and June.

The harvest time in Central and South District is similar: may to June and October to November. However, it has no primary and secondary harvest seasons, and yields are the same in both periods.

Southern district

Southern Colombia is near the equator, and coffee grows in the higher mountains. This is a high-quality coffee growing area: coffee is famous for its high acidity and unique cup shape.

As in the North District, there is only one wet season and one dry season. The dry season lasts from June to September, then the coffee blossoms. The rainy season begins in October and may last until May, but the harvest season usually begins in April and lasts until June.

This is in stark contrast to the north of the country, where coffee is harvested in the autumn. As the harvest period is extended to December. In central Colombia, roasters can serve Colombian coffee to customers for most of the year.

Eastern district

Coffee is grown on a much smaller scale in eastern Colombia. It includes only areas such as Arauca,Casanare,Meta and Caquet á.

The region has suffered from armed conflicts in the past and support for coffee production has become a top priority. The National Coffee producers Association of Colombia is investing in helping the region grow varieties that better suit its environment, and they are also focused on helping farmers expand the size of their farms.

The climate of this area is similar to that of the north. However, there is more rainfall and humidity.

| Coffee producing area

Colombia is best known for producing areas such as Medellin, Armenia and Manizales, which are traditionally referred to as "MAM".

Colombia's boutique bean producing areas are mainly in the south, more than 1500 meters above sea level, including San Augustin, Huila in Huilan province, Popayan, Cauca in Cauca province, Nari ñ o province, and Tolima province, all of which have delicate sour and raspberry aromas, caramel aromas and full sweetness.

From north to south, the producing areas of Colombia are:

Santander/North of Santander Santander and North Santander

Santander is a famous producing area in northern Colombia, facing Magdalenaho to the west and growing about 1400-1600 meters above sea level. The coffee beans in this area are famous for their strong taste, long aftertaste and unique fresh vegetation flavor.

Antioquia Antioquia

Antioquia province, located in north-central Colombia, grows 126000 hectares of coffee and produces 18% of Colombia's coffee beans, second only to Huila province. Most of the province is alpine terrain belonging to the Andes, but it is swept by the warm Caribbean sea breeze. Medellin, the provincial capital, is Colombia's second largest city and an important coffee producing area in Colombia.

Tolima Tolima

Tolima is adjacent to huila and cauca, which runs through the north-south Andes (M. Andes) and the Cordillera Mountains (M. Cordillera), and between the two famous mountain systems is the Magdalena River (R. Magdalena) running from south to north.

The name Tolima comes from the earliest people who lived here, "Pijaopeople". In the language of this ancient people (Pijao word), tolima means "snow cover" and "snowed". The farms in Tolima are generally slightly larger than those in other southern Colombian producing areas, ranging from 10 to 15 hectares. The cooperative approach is also popular here, where farmers send their small batches of fresh coffee and fruit to the cooperative's processing plant. Some farmers will also choose to deal with it on their own, making use of their own small-scale treatment facilities that can handle the harvest of the day.

Huila Huilan

Huilan province, located in the southern part of the Central Mountains in southern Colombia, is the most famous boutique coffee producing area in the country. This area is a hilly land surrounded by mountains, planted more than 1500 meters above sea level, where the most important rivers in Colombia meet, bringing abundant water resources and moisture.

Contrary to the general impression that a large amount of Colombian coffee is balanced and smooth, the fine Goran products produced by many small farmers in micro batches are actually very characteristic of the flavor of the producing area. In recent years, with the attention to the quality of coffee and the demand for fine coffee in the international market, the original bean size grading system has been gradually abandoned to micro-batch (Micro-regional selections) provided by small farmers in micro-production areas, and dozens of small farmers have provided their unit harvest into a micro-batch to sell, and because of this, they have more opportunities to measure each batch by cup. Directly pick out a lot of high-quality specific smallholder coffee.

Cauca test card

Cauca province is a certified coffee producing area in Colombia, with an average elevation of 1758m and a maximum elevation of 2100m. The topography, precipitation, temperature and volcanic soil of the area prepare suitable conditions for the growth of coffee. 80% is mountainous, with parallel mountain systems in the east and middle, part of the Andes, and the central mountain system includes two major volcanoes, Sotara and Petacas. The border province of Cauca, like other southwestern producing areas, has a distinct unimodal distribution (monomodal). The dry season mainly occurs from August to September each year, followed by a concentrated coffee season followed by the following year's concentrated coffee harvest season.

Cauca province is a certified coffee producing area in Colombia, with an average elevation of 1758m and a maximum elevation of 2100m. The topography, precipitation, temperature and volcanic soil of the area prepare suitable conditions for the growth of coffee. 80% is mountainous, with parallel mountain systems in the east and middle, part of the Andes, and the central mountain system includes two major volcanoes, Sotara and Petacas. The border province of Cauca, like other southwestern producing areas, has a distinct unimodal distribution (monomodal). The dry season mainly occurs from August to September each year, followed by a concentrated coffee season followed by the following year's concentrated coffee harvest season.

The biggest difference in climate with other producing areas is probably the relatively large temperature difference, with a daily average temperature of 11 ℃ and a daytime average temperature of 18 ℃. The temperature difference between day and night is an important factor in quality coffee. Low night temperatures and relatively higher elevations slow down the growth of coffee, allowing coffee seeds and beans to more fully absorb the nutrients of coffee fruits, as well as better acidity and commendable special sweetness of Coca Coffee.

| Coffee type

In addition to the common coffee varieties in the Americas, such as Kaddura Caturra, Bourbon Bourbon, Tippika Typica and Parkmara, Colombia also has its own three disease-resistant varieties, namely Castillo Castillo and Tabi Tabi Colombian Colombia with the same name as the country. Of course, there are also some rare and valuable varieties such as Rosa Gesha, small-grained Mocha Mocca, Rume Sudan Romer Sultan, Eugenioides Eugene Odes, Laurina pointed Bourbon, Maraguesa Mara Rosa (a natural hybrid between Marago Rippi and Rosa).

| | handling method |

Colombian coffee is mostly washed, and every small farmer family has a small special processor (Ecomill or Eco-Pulper). The harvested coffee fruit is poured into it, which removes not only the peel and pulp, but also most of the pectin, and only a very small amount of water is needed. Next, the shell beans with a small amount of pectin will go into a small pool or container, which may be a cement pool (some tiles) or a stainless steel bucket that will ferment overnight and loosen the residual pectin. Rinse with clean water the next day, and the washing process is completed.

Dry, according to the weather, if the weather is good, of course the first choice is natural drying, there will be a small shed laid on the wooden scaffolding to dry in the shade; otherwise, it will be laid on an empty cement floor for drying; if the weather is not good, if it rains continuously, then use a dryer to dry, the dryer will have an intake temperature control, usually about 50 degrees Celsius.

| | Coffee bean grading |

Columbia coffee beans are classified into more than 200 grades. Colombian coffee beans have the highest grade [supremo], followed by upper selection [excelso], and selected beans with a diameter of more than 18x64 inches can be selected for boutique coffee.

| famous coffee farm

Hope Manor

Hope Manor has four estates (Esperanza, Las Margaritas, Cerro Azul and Potosi). Its manor won the Best of Panama Best Panama Champion (2008) and runner-up (2009) *. 2012 even arranged three seats in the top ten of SCAA Coffee of the Year with three products, the incredible number 2, 3 and 7. , GFA (Good Food Award), Hope Manor has also become the only award-winning estate outside Ethiopia, Kenya and Panama.

Hope that the manor is different from other manors, with doctoral botanists, three professional cup surveyors, 100 full-time employees, and currently manages a manor under its jurisdiction. The estate is owned by the Herrera brothers. In fact, the grandfather of the Herrera brothers, who ran a coffee farm in the Trujillo district of Colombia, gradually declined, and the two brothers left Colombia. But they did not give up their dream of going back to their hometown to run a coffee farm.

The experiment and innovation of Hope Chateau on variety seems to be endless, constantly experimenting with different new varieties, in addition to the organic Kaddura, which used to make up the majority of the area of the Hope estate, from rose summer, organic rose summer, mocha, bourbon (including different red, yellow, Tekizik bourbon), pointed bourbon, Pakamara, San Bernardo and Pache, they really bring the chateau's serious attitude towards grape varieties to coffee. After the rose summer, from the Pacamara, Bourbon and even the pointed Bourbon produced by the Hope Manor, continue to create the surprise and admiration of the boutique coffee world.

Jadeite Manor

Jade Manor is located in Boyaca province, Colombia, with an average altitude of 1230m, an average temperature of 22 °and a rainfall of 1870ml. 90% of the Castijue tree species in the 2.62 ha planting area, shaded planting in the second half of the harvest season, traditional natural degumming treatment, with 4C certification, rainforest certification and UTZ certification. These basic and frank basic information has shown that this is a high-purity, rich flavor of high-quality coffee, and more importantly, the Emerald Manor has been selected as the local "best ecological cycle" demonstration estate. Not only because of the good living conditions, high-quality tree species renewal and good primary processing / drying infrastructure, but also because of the perfect integration of the whole manor planting and ecosystem. The manor is dotted with traditional shade trees, such as red beans, acacia trees, acacia trees, betel nuts and so on. The full coffee berries are particularly red under the protection of these trees, and the mood of picking is on the rise.

Oak Manor

Oak Manor is located in Cauca Valley, Colombia, with an average altitude of 1880m, an average temperature of 22 °and a rainfall of 1920ml. Of the 7.43 hectares, 50% of the coffee can be harvested in the first half of the year and 50% in the second half of the year, ensuring an adequate supply of fresh coffee throughout the year. The all-day planting pattern makes every berry full and strong, and the high altitude temperature difference between day and night makes the berry honey sweet and juicy, which makes the oak manor coffee rich in flavor, with high sweetness of tropical fruit. The Oak Manor is a manor with a long history. The son Galvis took over the manor from his parents and began to change the tree species in the 1970s, changing the single planting pattern in which his parents only planted Katula trees. Now the Castiere tree species is the largest tree species in the manor, which not only improves the disease resistance of coffee trees, but also increases the yield, but also greatly improves the quality of coffee. The manor planting that has been inherited from generation to generation is based on rich experience in planting management and dedication and love for coffee.

Sweet Orange Manor

The name of Sweet Orange Manor sounds pleasant. Located in Boyaca province, Colombia, the average altitude is 1440m, the average temperature is 18 °, and the rainfall is 1330ml. The planting area is 2.76 hectares, which is composed of 98% of Castijue and 2% of Katula tree species, 100% shaded planting, and the harvest season is from October to January of the following year. The overall planting conditions look ordinary, but the coffee flavor of this manor is bright and amazing, just like the name of the manor, the ordinary sweet orange will grasp every taste bud with full aroma and brisk acidity. Sweet Orange Manor has 4C certification and is also a certified unit of the Colombian Women Farmers' Union. Garson, the owner of the manor, is a female municipal council chairman who manages his manor well and actively participates in the renewal of old tree species. Is the leader of coffee farmers. Women's tenderness contains a strong passion for coffee, calm and gentle with firm strength, once again in line with the name of the manor-sweet orange, sweet and juicy taste can not lack the dazzling acidity.

Black Sugar Girl Manor

If you see the word black sugar running away from Taiwan, please turn back. Black Sugar Girl Manor is located in Caldas province, Colombia, with an average altitude of 1611m, an average temperature of 20 °and a rainfall of 2800ml. The black sugar girl is named because the whole manor area is 13.1 hectares, the coffee planting area is 1.15 hectares, accounting for only 8%, and the rest of the planting land is full of sugar cane. Coffee is the rare part of the manor that needs careful care, surrounded by lush sugar cane trees, and ripe coffee cherries look like enthusiastic Latin American girls. 100% Castijue tree species, 60% sunshine planting, 40% shade planting, coffee flavor is rich and layered. Abundant precipitation makes coffee full of fruit, rich in nutrition and flavor, sweet sugarcane and smooth black sugar, which have long been tied to coffee. Black Sugar Manor is rainforest certified and Fairtrade certified. Rivera, the owner, has been planting the land since he bought the land from the family farm 16 years ago, while his family takes care of sugar cane planting and brown sugar production. Rivera is still unmarried, and the busy figure shuttling around the manor every day is like dancing salsa with his black sugar girl.

Colombia, located in the northwest of South America, is a beautiful country with a long history. Indians have lived on this land since ancient times. It was colonized by Spain in 1531 and gained independence in 1819. It was renamed in 1886 to commemorate Columbus, the discoverer of the American continent. Colombia has beautiful mountains and rivers, beautiful scenery, pleasant climate, spring all year round and fresh air. Colombia is rich in products, especially coffee, flowers, gold and emeralds are known as the "four treasures". Today, the country is the second largest coffee producer after Brazil, the world's largest exporter of Arabica coffee beans and the world's largest exporter of washed coffee beans. Colombian coffee is often described as silky and smooth. Of all the coffees, it is the most balanced, soft, smooth and ready to drink, and it has won praise that no other coffee can match: known as "green gold".

Santa Rita Manor

Santa Rita Manor is located in the Colombian province of Antioquia, located in a micro-producing area adjacent to the Andes. This high-quality coffee is made together by nine nearby farms. The nine farms still handle the coffee in the traditional way: picking coffee cherries by hand, then washing the coffee fruits with traditional water, and drying the treated coffee beans in a scaffolding. The environment around the Andes makes this coffee-growing area rich in volcanic soil and rich in water resources.

Mirado Manor

Mirador Manor is located in the Pitalito (Pitalito) producing area at the southernmost tip of the famous Colombian Huila region, which is famous for producing high-quality coffee. Elkin Guzman, the owner of the garden, is undoubtedly a pioneer in the coffee industry. The clever young grower uses the latest technology to improve his planting, harvesting and processing techniques. After the coffee cherries are harvested, they will be sifted in the sink and hand-selected before drying the coffee. In the first 8 days, the coffee was dried in the sun on the viaduct and stirred continuously. On the 9th day, the coffee was moved to the dryer to dry for 35 days to avoid excessive temperature affecting the flavor.

Millennium Manor

Monsalot is located in the southwest of the Colombian province of Ulla, and most of its farmers grow on a small scale, treating coffee as a staple agricultural product in exchange for cash. The New Millennium Farmers' Association (Grupo Asociativo Productores del Nuevo Milenio) was set up a few years ago to improve the quality of coffee and expect to sell raw beans at higher prices. In addition, in 2005, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the Colombian boutique coffee program in the city, introducing American boutique raw bean traders to cooperate with the Millennium Farmers' Association. They sent people to Monsalot to participate in coffee production, and knew that farmers were improving their planting techniques and producing better coffee. In the boutique coffee market, they also provided suggestions on how to position and market.

The Farmers' Association has 42 members and can produce about three containers (about 825 bags) of raw coffee beans a year. In order to improve the quality, the New Millennium Peasants' Association continues to recruit new members in Monsalot, hoping to expand the scale of production. In addition, with the assistance of USAID and American traders, they have set up a local cup testing laboratory to teach farmers the method of cup testing, hoping that farmers can pass through the cup to judge the quality of coffee, which will be helpful to coffee production.

Diamond Manor

The Diamond Manor of Colombia huila, Colombia, located in the southwest of Colombia, is one of the major coffee growing areas. Because there are famous coffee cultivation places in Huilan area, the names of small areas become brand names and circulate. Although the cultivation conditions in this area are also very good, the cultivation infrastructure of coffee cultivation farm and surrounding conditions is not well developed. It is a great pity that the raw bean drying equipment or washing processing facilities are not perfect. The coffee in Huilan area has a strong taste and heavy texture. In particular, the coffee in Huilan area can be called high-quality coffee with the aroma of nuts, chocolate and caramel and suitable acidity. And caramel and other aromas and appropriate acidity can be called high-end boutique coffee.

Let's talk about the Coca Joyo Cup in Colombia.

Colombia has had bids such as the Coca Joyo Cup (Cauca Best Cup) since 2014, organized by well-known American traders, local exporters and the Coffee Association of Colombia. The first Coca Zhuoyue Cup received about 200 samples in 2014, compared with more than twice the number in 2015. About 500 small farmers will compete for the competition, and the organizers will select the top 30 from more than 500 samples. The top 12 will be selected by the international jury cup, and raw bean sellers and bakers from all over the world will bid on the last day of the event.

Competitions like the Cauca Cup are actually helpful. It not only increases the income of small farmers, but also has the opportunity to improve their living conditions, but also makes them more willing to invest and improve their coffee production, producing higher quality coffee from 500 batches by local judges. After four rounds of cup testing, 30 batches were selected to enter the finals, and 30 international judges conducted two rounds of tests to compare the top 10.

The international coffee competition in Colombia from 2005 to the present has two forms:

2005-2015 Magazine Coe

Since 2016, Colombia has organized its first international coffee competition, named LAND OF DIVERSITY, and conducted its first offline auction. The new competition also has a great change compared with the competition system of CoE.

It is divided into two categories: small batches (SMALL BATCH) and large batches (LARGE BATCH). For the first time, large batches (LARGE BATCH) are included in the bidding system; small batches start at US $5 / lb and large quantities start at US $2 / lb.

The classification of coffee is evaluated by attributes, and the five attribute categories of small batches of coffee are evaluated in the tournament. Each coffee can be nominated in one or more categories and win the final championship award in this category.

The five attributes are acidity Acidity, taste Body, balance Balance and flexibility Mildness.