The southern municipality of Bolivar is in the central mountains of the Cauca department, and 60 percent of the region's agricultural output is coffee. There are roughly 2,600 hectares planted with coffee in Bolivar, in soil that is is largely volcanic and on steep slopes, in some places as much as 75 percent incline.
The Regional Select Program was created to highlight the unique profiles we have found that are inherent to specific microregions within Colombia. The regions we are focusing on are Huila, Nariño, Cauca and Tolima. The primary difference between the Microlot Program and Regional Select is the preshipment cupping score.
This program adds yet another tier to our stratified buying structure in Colombia, designed to further reward quality. As the coffees are received at origin, they are separated based on quality and local areas.
The separations look like this:
Regional Select: 86–87 pts
Microlot Program: 87–89 pts
90 Points Program: 90+ pts
We think that the terroir or soil, sun weather, and placement on the planet contribute largely to the flavor of these coffees, when they are picked ripe and handled properly. These coffees are selected by cup and then blended, like a Rhone wine or a local honey that comes many fields in a 4-mile radius.
For more information about coffee production in Colombia, visit our Colombia origin page.