The first coffee crops were planted in the eastern part of the country in 1970. In 1808 the first commercial production was registered with 100 green coffee bags (60 kg each) that were exported from the port of Cucuta, near the border with Venezuela. A priest named Francisco Romero is attributed to have been very influential in the propagation of the crop in the northeast region of the country. After hearing the confession of the parishioners of the town of Salazar de la Palmas, he required as penance the cultivation of coffee. Coffee became established in the departments of Santander and North Santander, Cundinamarca, Antioquia, and the historic region of Caldas.
Despite these early developments, the consolidation of coffee as a Colombian export did not come about until the second half of the 19th century. The great expansion that the world economy underwent at that time allowed Colombian landowners to find attractive opportunities in international markets. Little by little, the United States became the most important consumer of coffee in the world, while Germany and France became the most important markets in Europe.
In 1927 the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC) was founded as a business cooperative that promotes the production and exportation of Colombian coffee. Since the FNC came to exist, it has become one of the largest rural NGO in the world. It is a non-profit organization and is not affiliated with any political party.
Since the beginning, our Federation has been the foremost coffee association in Colombia, with presence in every rural region where coffee is grown. The work of the Federation revolves around the coffee growers and their families ensuring Colombian Coffee is grown in a sustainable manner, strengthening common interests within coffee-growing communities while positioning Colombian Coffee as the best coffee in the world.
The federation represents more than 500,000 coffee producing families by supporting research and development, monitoring production standards, and protecting the industry in Colombia. It has developed a complex infrastructure of federated representation that promotes collaboration and joint decisions which address the interests of coffee growers and their families. In this way Colombian coffee growers have arrived at the necessary consensus to develop programs and actions for their own well being. Their goal is to improve the quality of life of Colombian coffee growers.
Colombia coffee is often regarded as some of the highest quality coffee in the world. It’s mountain ranges make for excellent growing conditions, giving it a third place position for production, after Brazil and Vietnam.
Size: 1.142 million km²
Capital City: Bogota
Population: 48.65 million
Language: Spanish
Average farm size: 3 acres
Annual production: 13.6 million bags
Bags exported annually: 12.2 million bags
Annual domestic consumption: 1.4 million bags
Growing regions: Through-out Colombia. The specific geographic location of each growing region determines its particular conditions of availability of water, temperature, solar radiation, and wind regime for cultivation.
Varieties: Typica, Bourbon, Caturra
Processing Methods: Washed
Bag Size: 70 kg
Harvest Period: October to March
Shipment Period: December to February