Huila

Of the many growing regions in Colombia, the mountainous department of Huila in the south west of the country grows the most coffee. It is also the region of the world where we source the most coffee!

Huila enjoys a wide diversity of micro-climates, temperatures, altitudes and coffee varieties. In fact, coffee is grown in 35 of Huila's 37 municipalities. All of this means that the coffee coming out of this region is as diverse as the variables that influence its production.

Field Blend

A natural mutation of Bourbon, originally discovered in Brazil in the early 20th century; Caturra derives its name from the Guarani word for “small,” a reference to its diminutive stature that results from a single-gene mutation causing dwarfism. It was this small size- allowing for more trees to be planted closer together- that led to mass selections of Caturra being made by the Instituto Agronomico (IAC) of Sao Paulo State in Campinas in the 1930’s. Caturra then made its way to Guatemala during the 1940’s and then was widely adopted in the 1970’s by the rest of Central America, where it is now one of the most economically important varieties. At high altitudes Caturra has strong quality and yield potential but unfortunately, is quite susceptible to disease.

Caturra's susceptibility to rust led to efforts by the Colombian coffee research institute, Cenicafé, to cross Caturra with Timor Hybrids to generate rust resistance. The result was Variedad Colombia, which was largely successful for a time, and remains popular despite leaf-rust mutations overtaking its resistance. Cenicafé continued the breeding process of Caturra and Timor Hybrid varieties to produce even better resistance to leaf rust. Ultimately this resulted in Castillo, which also benefits from high yields and good cup quality, making it the predominant variety grown in Colombia today. The name Castillo actually refers to a number of different forms of the variety, each tailored to a different regional climate in Colombia. This diversity has helped facilitate continued rust resistance

Washed

Members of the group have learned to pick ripe cherries, giving cherries as much time as possible to build mucilage and for skins to soften their astringency with sun exposure. The association has done tests with Brix readers to determine the optimum picking point for different varieties. Most group members de-pulp coffee, and then ferment without water- some in an open tank, and others in sealed pickle barrels- before washing the coffee. Producers in the region often rub the parchment with their hands to make sure that the fermentation is complete and that no mucilage remains. Drying is low and slow- between 10-15 days to bring moisture levels down to around 11%.