Coffee from Colombia |
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Coffee from Colombia |
| Colombia |
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Colombia has been growing coffee since
1808, and for many years has been in second position for world
coffee production, although the percentages vary. The 1996-97 crop
year figures, for example, allot 11 per cent to Colombian "mild"
coffees. Again, with all that coffee there must be a wide range of
quality, but where Brazil produces Robustas as well as Arabicas,
Colombia cultivates only the Typical, Bourbon, Caturra and Maragogype
varieties of wet-processed Arabica. Often the trees are shaded,
usually by banana trees, and the coffee is all picked by hand; there
is no need for irrigation or mulching. The altitude of the
plantations, of which many are smallholdings, ranges from 800 to
1900 meters, and is determined by three mountain ranges, many of
which contain the rich, lava-based soil so wonderful for good coffee
cultivation. The mountains create a natural division of three coffee growing regions, of which the Central range produces by far the most coffees, the best being known commercially by the market town names of Medellin (the only area containing the few Maragogype trees), Manizales and Libido. A trade acronym of Medellin, Armenia ( a market town of the Western region) and Manizales is MAMS, a group of coffees which together represent around 70% of Colombia's bags. Considering that Colombian bags are ten kilos heavier than those of most other countries, that's a lot of coffee. Of the Eastern range the best coffees are generally the Bogotas and Bucamarange, the latter being a "soft" bean coffee. Colombian coffee is noted for its wonderful aroma, good body and strong acidity; in fact, in unblended coffees the Colombians offer the best chance of getting a well-balanced cup, which is good flavor, body, aroma and a golden, not grey, color when milk or cream is added. The taste varies from coffee to coffee and crop year to crop year; and the grading is a combination of quality and size. The bags designated "supremo" are simply bigger beans from the same trees as those marked "excelso". I have heard it said that the very best coffee grown in Colombia is virtually unknown to the international commercial coffee market, and comes from none of the above regions; rather, it is grown in the extreme isolation of the high mountains of the southern Narino district, near the border of Ecuador. This coffee, described as "simply incredible", seems to be available only for local consumption, except for that sent to the Vatican. |
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