The municipality of Argelia is a southwestern microregion of Cauca, with an area of about 655 square kilometers. The area's economy is heavily centered on coffee, with 1,443 hectares of land planted in the crop, tended to by more than 1,750 coffee growers. The area's climate is influenced by its extreme change in altitude, from 800–3400 meters. The annual rainfall is between 1800–2400mm, and the soil is a combination of clay loam and volcanic ash.
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 pre-shipment 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.