What Makes Colombian Coffee So Famous?

Colombian soils are perfect for coffee's production.

Colombia produces 12% of coffee consumed worldwide. It’s only surpassed by Brazil and Vietnam, which are the countries with the largest coffee production. Their beans are virtually everywhere, and it’s rare to find someone who hasn’t heard that Colombian coffee is one of the best on the planet. But what makes it so unique? It wins competitions and is famous for its high-quality virtues. Besides, the Coffee Triangle in Colombia is a declared World Heritage Site.

There has to be something magical about it because it has seriously conquered the hearts of coffee lovers around the world, even the pickiest ones. The secret to understanding why Colombia makes such a good coffee is in its climate conditions and its cultivation soils. What you need to know is really simple: the higher the elevation where coffee is grown, the better the coffee bean tastes.

Colombian Arabica is well-known for its mild but rich aroma and its unique flavor. That’s because it's grown at an altitude of 1,200 to 1,800 meters above sea level, in rich volcanic soils. These lands in which it’s planted are frost-free and receive around 80 inches of rain a year. All those climate conditions meet in Colombia’s Coffee Cultural Landscape, which spans from Caldas to Risaralda, and Antioquia’s, Cali’s and Boyaca’s regions.

But that’s not all there is to it. Colombia does not only have one single good climate to grow coffee but many. Coffee is also produced in lower altitudes and warmer zones, as it happens in Santa Marta’s Sierra Nevada and Santander. As a result of these conditions, final products have lower acidity and a fuller body. In the southern regions of Narino, Cauca, Huila and the south of Tolima, beans grow at higher altitudes and closer to the Equator, giving them higher acidity and a sweet flavor.

So if we had to use a word to define Colombian coffee's culture, it would be "variety". And it’s quite amazing to get that many flavors and scents with one single species of coffee bean. All Colombian beans are 100% arabica, everyone’s favorite, which is another reason why it’s so well beloved. Arabica’s varieties cultivated in Colombia are Typica, Comun, Bourbon, Caturra, Colombia, and Maragogipe.

And the way those beans are harvested and processed also makes a significant impact on products' final quality. Colombians carefully pick fully ripe cherries instead of pulling all the strip of coffee cherries in one go. Impressively, they do all of this by hand, one by one. It doesn’t end there because after harvest is picked, farmers separate good beans from defective ones.

Then, coffee is processed with a method called “wet beneficio,” which includes depulping, fermentation, washing, and drying of coffee beans. After that, coffee beans will be classified by size and density, and they’ll be packed and sold.

A lot of what makes Colombian coffee special is the passion and hard work of farmers who are behind its production. They examine all coffee trees every 10 days and can harvest up to 90 kilograms of ripe red cherries a day. Truly a hard day’s work, but totally worth it! At That Coffee Roasters, we’re absolutely proud of our heritage, and we love to share the magic of Colombian Arabica beans with everyone! If you liked this article, subscribe to our blog and follow us on our social media to keep spreading the gospel on Colombian coffee to all Americans.

Passion and art have always characterized coffee farmers' work in Colombia.

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That Coffee Roasters

Phone Number: (305) 821-8811

2697 W. 76 Street, Hialeah, Florida 33016

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