Colombia Organic Tolima Multicoop-Asojuntas 2024

Tolima Organic Coffee

Cordillera de Calarma is a mountain peak in the Andes, and a culturally significant zone in the Tolima Department. The region was once the home of the Pijao, an indigenous tribe. Today, it is a sanctuary for more than 300 bird species and the native Spectacled Bear.

Coffee is the main source of income for producers in Cordillera de Calarma. They supplement their livelihood with other crops such as beans, livestock, sugarcane, and cocoa. Their farms range from one to three hectares, and span 1,500 to 2,200masl. They harvest coffee cherries by hand, depulp and ferment the beans for 18 to 48 hours, and sun-dry the coffee across the roofs of their homes and farm buildings.

Tolima is one of the biggest coffee-producing areas of Colombia, making this region a heavyweight for the country’s coffee volume. With two dry seasons and two wet seasons every year, coffee is harvested twice – once from April to July and again from October to December.

Common Coffee Varietals in Colombia

The most common Arabica varietals that grow in Colombia are Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, and Maragogipe, with three rust-resistant Cenicafé-developed strains – Tabi (Typica x Bourbon x Timor hybrid), Colombia (Caturra x Timor hybrid), and Castillo (also Caturra x Timor hybrid) – that are usually found on Colombian coffee farms.

Colombian Coffee

Over half a million families dedicate their livelihoods to producing unroasted Colombia green coffee on small farms that dot the country’s volcanic mountain ranges. As the world’s third-largest producing country, the volume, quality, and variety that comes out of Colombia year-round is staggering. Coffee from Colombia is never dull, and with 16 coffee-producing regions along three mountain ranges and two harvests each year, Colombia always has fresh coffee on hand. Read more in our Colombian Coffee Origin Report.