El Bombo Organic FW

This Organic Certified lot comes from smallholder farmers in Huila who are members of Cooperativa de Caficultores El Bombo (El Bombo Cooperative), previously known as Asombombo. El Bombo was founded by third-generation producer John Edison Díaz to expand market access and secure fair, sustainable prices for member coffees. Members span Huila, Caquetá, Cauca and Nariño, often referred to as Colombia’s new coffee region, and are Organic certified.  
 
Close to 95% of contributing producers are smallholders farming under 5 hectares of land. El Bombo prioritizes working with families managing modest areas where attention to detail and consistency are strong. As Founder and Commercial Manager, John Edison Díaz notes that the character of these communities shows in the cup: humility, hard work and a commitment to quality. 

El Bombo invests in generational renewal to make farming attractive and viable for younger producers. Generational renewal is the process of a new generation succeeding an older one, particularly in a long-standing family tradition or industry, such as agriculture, to ensure its continuation and future prosperity. El Bombo’s efforts include a youth extension team that visits member farms to support reforestation, water-saving practices, renovation with new seedlings and intercropping strategies. The goal is clear management of the farm as an enterprise and a more technical, professional approach to coffee. 

In Pitalito, farms tend to be slightly larger than other regions of Colombia. Most farms here are between 3 and 5 hectares, compared to 1 to 3 hectares in other regions.   

Most of the families living in Pitalito today immigrated from Nariño in the 19th and 20th centuries. Nariño used to be much more densely populated than Huila, but many people migrated to Pitalito in search of affordable, fertile land.   
 
The cooperative prioritizes environmental care on the farms with actions that include reforestation, water protection and prevention of deforestation. In Cauca, the team distributed approximately 100,000 trees to strengthen farm shade and local biodiversity. El Bombo also coordinates with local environmental authorities in Huila to align on compliance. 

In addition to coffee, many producers in Pitalito also grow sugarcane. El Bombo helped member communities build mills where farmers can process sugarcane into panela, a typical raw sugarcane product that is common in rural Colombia. 

Farmers selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on their farms. They pulp cherry on small hand crank pulpers and ferment it for about 30 to 34 hours. Following fermentation, they wash parchment in clean water and lay it to dry, typically in parabolic dryers. They rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 17 to 20 days   

The Huila region is one of the most well-known coffee growing areas of Colombia. The Department of Huila has a population of 1.125 million and is located in the southwest of the country. The capital of the department is Neiva, a city of about 380,000.  

Along with Cauca and Nariño, Huila is one the three departments where the Colombian Massif is located. A massif is a group of mountain ranges and the Colombian Massif, which is known locally as Nudo de Almaguer, provides up to 70% of safe drinking and agricultural water for the Colombian population. 

The Magdalena River, Colombia’s largest river, runs through the region, providing plenty of water for coffee farming and generating (directly and indirectly) up to 86% of Colombia's GDP. The mountain range also features the fertile volcanic soil so typical to the Andean Mountains. 

Over the years, the term Excelso has held a few different meanings. What has not changed, however, is that only the best Colombian coffees are permitted to be exported.  

Excelso is supplied in steady volume throughout the year. In the cup, it displays a reliably distinctive combination of body and acidity.