Since we started the Spectacled Bear program in the fall of 2005, we have donated $2121.90 to the Wildlife Conservation Society. This money is earmarked to study and help save the Spectacled Bear, endangered in Colombia.
Thank you for supporting this program!

A few roasters and I went to Colombia last month to visit farms and meet with growers in the region of Huila. We flew in to Bogotá, where we met a couple of guys from the Colombian Coffee Federation (FNC) who are the exporters for most of the boutique Colombian coffees we import. We spent the next five days getting up early and going to bed late. We flew and drove and cupped coffee...and drove and flew and ate a lot... and drank Aguardiente and cupped coffee and drove and flew some more. It was truly fantastic!

Over the last few years, Café Imports has brought in many coffees from the region of Huila such as Campo Alegre, Glorius, Huila Select and the Super Decaf (EA), so we thought it fitting to tour this region. We have found the coffees from this part of the country to be high in acidity, intensely fruity, and sweet.

Our first stop was the Colombian Coffee Federation office in Bogotá, where we were given an overview of the history of Colombian coffee and the intricacies of the FNC. It is an old and democratic organization of coffee farmers that provides technical assistance and purchasing stations, builds infrastructure, schools and health clinics. That afternoon we boarded a small plane and headed South to the interior of Huila, where it was 100 degrees and where we spent the next few days visiting producer groups and farms.

The most striking thing about this part of Colombia is the natural beauty of the countryside. It is primarily rich, green jungle with small farms etched across the mountainsides. There are two mountain ranges that meet in the region of Huila, with the country’s largest river flowing in the valley between them.

Colombia is one of two coffee producing countries in the world that harvests two crops in the same year. The north harvests in the fall and the south in the spring. Huila is located in such a remarkable micro-climate that they get harvests from both ranges and harvests.

The Huila departmental coffee committee, that we met with for a round table discussion, believes that they have a “gift of nature in the outstanding quality of their coffee.” They say that “coffee is life”. Farmers in Huila, through the efforts of the associations and the FNC are very aware of the effects on the environment from processing coffees. The technical farms use a type of Aqua-pulper to remove the meat from the cherry. The old style requires 40 liters of water per kilo and the new improved technical type, an earth saving 1.5 liters! Many farmers are actively converting to Rainforest Alliance (RA) and welcome the structure it gives to what they have always believed in: protecting their resources. They state their challenge as “to be sustainable and to increase quality”.

In quality competitions over the last few years, Huila has fared exceptionally well. In the Cup of Excellence they had 16 of the last 25 coffees. In the Illy competitions they were in the top 5 over the last two years; in 2002 they took 1st through 5th place.

In the town of Pitalito we met with the association and discussed our coffee philosophies and theirs. We asked and answered questions and then concluded the meeting with a round of applause and a few cases of beer. We then climbed in to the back of some trucks and jeeps and headed up the mountain to a farm at nearly 6,000 feet where they had prepared a feast for us. The Mayor arrived and everyone feasted.

We took a tour of the facility, a recent RA certified farm and were shown the improvements in processing and conservation, including domiciles for the employees and a water and septic system. Afterward the Mayor and his brother stood on the patio and entertained us with traditional music and a band of youth danced for us in traditional Huilanese fashion.

Afterwards, they let us ride their motorcycles down the mountain, of which I cannot share photos or my insurance agent and wife will be clamoring to choke me. Wow, what a day!

These people were fantastic. They were friendly, happy, proud and kind. They have a beautiful and rich country and are blessed, I believe.

—Andrew Miller (Andrew@cafeimports.com)