About This Coffee
In Cauca, coffee is largely produced on small plots by rural and predominantly indigenous communities. More than 90,000 families cultivate approximately 93,000 hectares of coffee across the department. Like Nariño and Huila, Cauca is emerging from a long history of armed conflict, which contributed to regional isolation and made it difficult to maintain coffee traceability.
Cultivation
The region’s high elevations and water-rich landscapes create favorable conditions for coffee cultivation and have contributed to Cauca’s growing place within Colombia’s New Coffee Triangle.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Farmers selectively handpick ripe cherry and process it on their farms. Some lots undergo a light overnight cherry fermentation in loosely covered boxes before pulping. After pulping, coffee is fermented in tanks and washed with clean water. Parchment is then dried in parabolic dryers covered with mesh to help control temperature and is raked regularly to ensure even drying. Drying generally takes 10 to 15 days.
Coffee in Colombia
Colombia has been producing and exporting coffee renowned for their full body, bright acidity and rich aftertaste, since the early 19th century.
Colombia boasts a wide range of climates and geographic conditions that produce their own unique flavors in coffee. This also means that harvest times can vary quite a bit. In fact, between all its different regions, Colombia produces fresh crop nearly all year round.
The increasing focus on the specialty industry is changing the way traders and farmers do business. It is becoming more common for farmers to isolate the highest quality beans in their lots to market separately. These higher-quality lots are often sold under specific brands or stories.
Besides its wide variety of cup profiles, Colombia has quickly expanded its certification options over the past 10 years. The most common certifications available are Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Organic.