Colombian coffee growing environment Colombian coffee culture

The history of coffee cultivation in Colombia can be traced back to the Spanish colonial era in the 16th century, and there are many theories about the history of coffee in Colombia:

One: it is said to come from the sea island of the Caribbean and from El Salvador in Central America.

Second: in 1808, a priest introduced coffee beans to Colombia for the first time from the French Antilles via Venezuela. One of them is that Colombia's first coffee seeds were imported from Venezuela through the province of Santander. [1]

Third: the earliest records of coffee cultivation in Colombia appear in the book "The Illustrated Orinoca" written by Jose Gumilla, a Spanish missionary. He describes what he saw when he preached on both sides of the Meta River in 1730, in which he mentioned the local coffee plantation. By 1787, other missionaries had spread coffee to other parts of Colombia.

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".

Species morphology editing

Plant morphology of Colombian coffee

Plant Morphology of Colombian Coffee (10)

The main varieties of Colombian coffee are small grains of coffee. Plants are small trees or large shrubs, 5-8 m tall, usually much branched at base; old branches gray-white, nodes dilated, young branches glabrous, compressed. Leaves thinly leathery, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, 6-14 cm long and 3.5-5 cm wide, apex long acuminate, acuminate part 10-15 mm long, base cuneate or slightly obtuse, rarely rounded, entire or shallowly wavy, both surfaces glabrous, lower vein axils with or without small pores; midrib raised on both surfaces of leaf, 7-13 on each side of lateral veins; petiole 8-15 mm long Stipules broadly triangular, arising from the tip of the upper part of the young branch conical or awn tip, the tip of the old branch is often protruding tip, 3-6 mm long. Cymes several clustered in leaf axils, each with 2-5 flowers, without a total pedicel or with a very short peduncle; flowers fragrant, with pedicels 0.5-1 mm long; bracts base ±connate, dimorphic, 2 broadly triangular, nearly equal in length and width, the other 2 lanceolate, 2 times as long as wide, leaf-shaped; calyx tubular, 2.5-3 mm long, calyx eaves truncate or 5-denticulate. Corolla white, length varies from breed to breed, generally 10-18 mm long, apically often 5-lobed, rarely 4-or 6-lobed, lobes often longer than Corolla tube, tip often obtuse; anthers protruding from Corolla tube, 6-8 mm long; style 12-14 mm long, stigma 2-lobed, 3-4 mm long. Berries broadly elliptic, red, 12-16 mm long, 10-12 mm in diameter, exocarp dura, mesocarp fleshy, sweet at maturity; seeds raised abaxially, ventral flat, longitudinally grooved, 8-10 mm long and 5-7 mm in diam. The florescence is from March to April. [2]

Planting environment editing

The suitable climate in Colombia provides a real "natural pasture" for coffee. Coffee trees in Colombia are mainly cultivated in the Andes, on steep slopes about 1300 meters above sea level, where the annual temperature is about 18 degrees Celsius, annual rainfall is 2000 to 3000 millimeters, latitude 1 °- 11 °15 north, longitude 72 °- 78 °west, the specific range of elevation is more than 2.000 meters. A special combination of factors, latitude, altitude, soil, plant origin of species and varieties of coffee production in Colombia's coffee growing area, rain patterns produced by the climate of the coffee growing area and tropical convergence, changing topography, luminosity, favorable temperature range throughout the year, moderation and Rain Water's distribution And include some common cultural practice areas in the process of selective logging and transformation, including washing and drying. Very suitable for the growth of coffee, mild climate, humid air, and can be harvested regardless of season. This is why Colombian coffee is of high quality. Colombia has three Codiera mountains running north and south, right into the Andes. Coffee is grown along the highlands of these mountains. The mountain steps provide a diverse climate, where the whole year is the harvest season, and different kinds of coffee ripen at different times. And fortunately, unlike Brazil, Colombia doesn't have to worry about frost. Approximately 2.7 billion coffee trees have been documented in Colombia, 66 per cent of which are planted in modern plantations and the rest on small traditionally run farms. [3]

The pure taste of Colombian coffee comes from Colombia's natural environment with the most favorable conditions for coffee growth. But beyond that, it is inseparable from the hard work of local growers. In Colombia, coffee cultivation has reached 1.07 million hectares, there are about 302000 coffee plantations in the country, and 30 to 40 per cent of the rural population depends directly on coffee production. Although there are many farms in Colombia, they are not large in area. The area of each farm is only about 2 hectares, and more than 80% of the coffee plantations have only about 5000 coffee trees, an average of 3000. Thus it can be seen that agriculture in Colombia belongs to the small-scale farm type. The locals plant tall trees or banana trees around the coffee trees. Build an Arbor for coffee trees at the seedling stage to ensure the cool and humid environment needed for coffee growth. Due to the high humidity, small temperature difference and slow ripening of coffee beans in the coffee forest, which is conducive to the accumulation of caffeine and aromatic substances, the quality of coffee is the best.