“Colombian coffee” is one of the most familiar phrases in coffee, which makes it easy to think of it as one taste. It isn’t. Café Imports counts 20 of the country’s 32 departments growing coffee, at a wide range of altitudes, and a coffee from the high south can taste little like one from the warmer north.
For how particular Colombian coffees compare in the cup, see our 6 Colombian coffees reviewed.
How much coffee Colombia grows
Colombia’s coffee growers’ federation, the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros (FNC), reports 13.7 million 60 kg bags for calendar year 2025, 2.3 percent less than in 2024, after heavy, prolonged rain in the first half of the year. It exported 13.14 million bags, and Colombians drank 2.28 million.
USDA counts by a marketing year that starts in October, and forecasts 13.4 million bags for 2026/27. That’s about 7 percent of its forecast world total of 189.7 million bags (calculated). Colombia grows only arabica, the importer Café Imports notes, and it’s the world’s third-largest producer in USDA’s table, after Brazil and Vietnam.
Hoffmann, in The World Atlas of Coffee, describes the FNC as unusual among producer organizations:
- Who runs it. Founded in 1927, it’s funded by a tax on all exported coffee and owned by its coffee-growing members, about 500,000 when he wrote.
- What it does. It markets Colombian coffee, most famously through Juan Valdez, and builds roads, schools and health centers in coffee communities.
- What it guarantees. Café Imports adds that it guarantees a purchase price for any coffee grown in Colombia.
Our history of Juan Valdez and the FNC tells that story.
The general profile
Hoffmann’s summary is that Colombian coffees have a huge range of flavors, from the heavier, chocolatier coffees through to jammy, sweet, fruity lots, and that the range runs across the regions. Café Imports lists washed processing as the norm. Hoffmann writes that washed coffees tend to have more acidity and complexity and a cleaner cup than other processes, which fits the clean, balanced cup many people think of as “Colombian.”
Café Imports sorts the regional tendencies roughly by geography:
- The north (Santa Marta, Santander), warmer and lower: fuller-bodied coffees with less brightness.
- The central coffee belt (Antioquia, Caldas, Quindío), where most of the coffee grows: easy-drinking cups with a soft nuttiness, big sweetness and low acidity.
- The southwest (Nariño, Cauca, Huila), with higher farms: more complex acidity and more florals.
These are tendencies across many lots. Any one bag can differ, and the processing and roast often matter more than the department.
The regions
Hoffmann writes that Colombia’s regions are defined by geography rather than politics, so coffees from one region tend to share traits: if you like one, you’ll probably like others from there. These are his figures.
| Region | Altitude | Main crop | Second crop (mitaca) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huila | 1,250–2,000 m (4,100–6,600 ft) | Sep–Dec | Apr–May |
| Nariño | 1,500–2,300 m (4,900–7,500 ft) | Apr–Jun | (none listed) |
| Cauca | 1,700–2,100 m (5,600–6,900 ft) | Mar–Jun | Nov–Dec |
| Tolima | 1,200–1,900 m (3,900–6,200 ft) | Mar–Jun | Oct–Dec |
| Antioquia | 1,300–2,200 m (4,300–7,200 ft) | Sep–Dec | Apr–May |
| Caldas | 1,300–1,800 m (4,300–5,900 ft) | Sep–Dec | Apr–May |
| Santander | 1,200–1,700 m (3,900–5,600 ft) | Sep–Dec | (none listed) |
| Sierra Nevada | 900–1,600 m (3,000–5,200 ft) | Sep–Dec | (none listed) |
What Hoffmann says about each:
- Huila has great soil and geography for coffee. He writes that some of the most complex, fruit-driven Colombian coffees he has tasted came from there.
- Nariño grows some of Colombia’s highest coffee, and it can be some of the most stunning and complex. Its closeness to the equator makes such heights workable. Most of its 40,000 or so producers are smallholders, with an average farm of under a hectare.
- Cauca, especially the high Meseta de Popayán, has a very stable climate, sheltered by the surrounding mountains, and notable volcanic soil.
- Tolima’s quality coffees tend to come from small farmers’ micro-lots, sold through cooperatives.
- Antioquia is the birthplace of both Colombian coffee and the FNC, with about 128,000 hectares of coffee, the most of any region.
- Caldas, with Quindío and Risaralda, makes up the Coffee Triangle, which grows a large share of the nation’s coffee. It’s also home to Cenicafé, the FNC’s research center.
- Santander is a little lower than most regions, and its coffees veer toward round and sweet rather than juicy and complex.
- Sierra Nevada, in the far north, is lower still, with heavier, rounder coffees grown on very steep slopes.
Two harvests a year
Most of Colombia picks two crops: a main harvest and a smaller second one, the mitaca (also called the traviesa). Which comes when depends on the region, as the table shows.
For the central coffee zone, Cenicafé studied the harvest at six of its research stations. It found the main harvest starting in August, building from September and falling off sharply in December, with the traviesa usually picked from March to May.
Importers give slightly different calendars. Café Imports, for instance, lists Huila’s main crop as November to January and its second as May to July, the reverse of Cauca and Nariño. It lists Colombian arrivals in the US as year-round.
The varieties
Colombia’s trees have changed fast. These are the varieties you’ll see on bags:
- Caturra. A dwarf mutation of Bourbon from Brazil. World Coffee Research (WCR) writes that Caturra was thought to make up nearly half of Colombia’s production until a government-backed program from 2008 replanted over three billion trees with the rust-resistant Castillo. WCR rates its cup quality potential at high altitude “Good” and its leaf-rust resistance low.
- Castillo. Bred by Cenicafé from crosses of Caturra and the Timor Hybrid line CIFC 1343, and released by the FNC on May 13, 2005, with seven regional versions for different zones. Cenicafé reported in 2018 that the Castillo varieties accounted for at least half of national production. It’s a composite: a blend of lines with different rust-resistance genes, meant to make the resistance last. It isn’t a Sarchimor; by WCR’s broad definition its Caturra × Timor Hybrid parentage makes it Catimor-type.
- Colombia. The earlier composite Cenicafé bred the same way, from Caturra and the Timor Hybrid.
- Cenicafé 1 and Castillo 2.0. The newer successors:
- Cenicafé 1 was released in December 2016: a short, Caturra-sized tree resistant to leaf rust and coffee berry disease, yielding as much as Castillo with a higher share of large beans.
- Castillo 2.0 was released to farmers in 2024. Cenicafé writes that it’s the first of its varieties to carry rust resistance from sources other than the Timor Hybrid 1343 line: robusta and another arabica.
- Typica and Bourbon. Café Imports still lists both among Colombia’s common varieties, and Hoffmann’s regional tables show Typica as a large share in Nariño. WCR writes that Bourbon reached the Americas through southern Brazil in 1860 and spread north. A separate branch went to East Africa with French missionaries.
- Pink Bourbon. Despite the name, DNA tests that Café Imports commissioned in 2017 and 2023, including on Colombian samples, identified it as an Ethiopian landrace, not a Bourbon.
Is Castillo any good? It’s the long-running argument. Hoffmann writes that many believe the FNC’s promotion of varieties like Castillo has favored yield over cup quality, but that with climate change pressing on Colombia’s production, it’s hard to argue against varieties that keep farmers in business. Cenicafé reports that its own cup tests haven’t found the Colombia and Castillo lines different from Caturra. The FNC’s 2025 report says 88 percent of Colombia’s coffee area is now planted with resistant varieties, so a Castillo on the bag is normal, not a warning. Judge the cup. Our coffee varietal guide explains how these varieties relate.
Labels: what “Supremo” and “Excelso” mean
The FNC created the terms Supremo and Excelso, Hoffmann explains, and they describe only the size of the bean, with no relation to quality. A coffee sold this way may come from many farms, blended before it’s sieved to size. For a coffee with character, look instead for:
- A region, at least: Huila, Nariño, Cauca, Tolima, Antioquia and so on.
- A farm, producer or cooperative, which is the real traceability.
- The variety and the process. Washed is the norm; honey and natural lots are fruitier and fuller.
- A roast date. Our Freshness tool treats days 7 to 21 after roasting as a typical peak for filter coffee.
Our guide to single-origin coffee explains what each level of a label tells you.
Roast and taste
Hoffmann describes how roasting trades acidity against bitterness: the longer a coffee roasts, the less acidity and the more bitterness it ends up with, and sweetness peaks between the two, in a bell curve. That’s a useful frame for Colombian coffee:
- A lighter roast keeps more acidity, so it suits the brighter southern coffees and shows regional differences most clearly.
- A medium roast sits nearer the sweet middle and suits the classic central-belt cup.
- A darker roast trades the acidity for more bitterness.
These are starting points for choosing a bag, not rules for any particular coffee.
How to brew it
For a medium roast in a V60, our Brew Guide starts at 1:16 with the kettle at 201°F (94°C); for a light roast it goes up to 205°F (96°C). Hoffmann notes that paper filters give the cleanest cup, which suits a bright Huila or Nariño. A French press’s metal mesh lets oils and fine particles through for a richer body, he writes, which suits a rounder Antioquia or Santander coffee. If a cup tastes sour or bitter, change the grind first. Our V60 guide, French press tutorial and grind size guide go further.
A quick guide by taste
| You like | Look for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bright, floral, complex | Huila, Nariño or Cauca, washed, light to medium roast | Café Imports: higher farms, more complex acidity and florals |
| Smooth, nutty, sweet | Antioquia, Caldas or Quindío, washed, medium roast | Café Imports: soft nuttiness, big sweetness, low acidity |
| Round and full-bodied | Santander or Sierra Nevada | Hoffmann: lower altitudes, rounder, heavier coffees |
| More fruit | A honey or natural lot from any region | Hoffmann: the fruit left on adds sweetness and body; naturals add fruit flavors |
Sources
- James Hoffmann, The World Atlas of Coffee, 2nd ed. (Octopus/Mitchell Beazley, 2018): “Colombia” (history, the FNC, the FNC and quality, traceability and the Supremo and Excelso grades, taste profile, growing regions with altitudes, harvests and notes); “Processing” (washed, natural, pulped natural and honey); “Roasting” (acidity, sweetness and bitterness); “Brewing” (French press; paper filters)
- Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, Informe de Gestión 2025 (June 2026): 2025 production, exports, consumption and imports; area in resistant varieties: federaciondecafeteros.org (PDF)
- USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Coffee: World Markets and Trade, July 2026, pp. 3–4 and 7, Coffee Summary (Colombia and world production, 2025/26 and 2026/27): apps.fas.usda.gov
- Gabriel Alvarado-Alvarado and Germán Moreno-Ruiz, “¿Cómo se distribuye anualmente la cosecha de las variedades Caturra y Colombia?,” Avances Técnicos Cenicafé 260 (February 1999), p. 3: biblioteca.cenicafe.org (PDF)
- H. A. Cortina Guerrero, M. P. Moncada Botero and J. C. Herrera Pinilla, “Variedad Castillo®: preguntas frecuentes,” Avances Técnicos Cenicafé 426 (December 2012), pp. 1–6: biblioteca.cenicafe.org (PDF)
- Cenicafé, “Variedades Castillo® zonales,” Avances Técnicos 489 (March 2018), p. 1: publicaciones.cenicafe.org (PDF)
- C. P. Flórez R. et al., “Cenicafé 1: nueva variedad de porte bajo, altamente productiva, resistente a la roya y al CBD, con mayor calidad física del grano,” Avances Técnicos Cenicafé 469 (July 2016), p. 2: biblioteca.cenicafe.org (PDF)
- Cenicafé, “Guía para la caracterización de las variedades de café: claves para su identificación,” Avances Técnicos 476 (February 2017), pp. 1 and 4–5: publicaciones.cenicafe.org (PDF)
- C. P. Flórez-Ramos et al., “Castillo 2.0 variedad mejorada: más resistencia, más resiliencia,” Avances Técnicos Cenicafé 566 (August 2024), pp. 5–6: publicaciones.cenicafe.org (PDF)
- World Coffee Research, Coffee Varieties Catalog, “Caturra” and “History of Arabica,” checked October 15, 2026: varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org
- Café Imports, “Colombia” origin page (coffee profile: growing regions, common varieties, processing, harvest periods, typical arrival; history; regionality; the FNC), checked October 15, 2026: cafeimports.com
- Café Imports, “Pink…Bourbon?: Cryptozoology and Genetics in Specialty Coffee,” blog post, September 26, 2023: cafeimports.com