Organic Colombia Tolima

Organic Colombia is bursting with strawberry, chocolate, and cinnamon; this profile sparkles with citrus undertones and finishes with a smooth, medium-bodied feel.

This traceable blend with a vibrant regional profile comes from an association called Cooperativa Multiactiva de Asociaciones Agropecuarias del Tolima (Multicoop), which has 379 producers with small farms in the municipalities of Planadas, Rioblanco and Chaparral.  Each producer has their own micro-mill where they carefully harvest cherries, depulp, ferment, wash and gently dry the parchment on raised beds. Their impeccable farm management and post-harvest practices culminate into a clean and consistent blend. But there are also just enough differences from farm to farm to create a rich complexity of flavors.

Tolima is the third largest coffee producing region of Colombia, and accounts for 12% of the country's annual production. Located in west-central Colombia, this region is fully inscribed by the Andean mountains and the Magdalena river basin, making it rather remote and challenging to access. Until recently, much of the coffee growing area had been considered dangerous because of the Colombian FARC's presence. Today, Tolima has seen a drastic decline in FARC presence, allowing for increased accessibility to these nutty, tangy, fruity, and creamy-bodied coffees.

We have had boots on the ground, with a cupping spoon in hand as Mike travels and cups coffees. We fall in love over and over again with the regional variations, the varieties, the landscape, and the producers themselves. From our work sourcing strong, versatile workhorse coffees for our Excelso Gran Galope signature offerings, to our celebration of the taste of place with Regional Selects from Cauca, Huila, Nariño, and Tolima, to the discovery and development of microlots from all over the country with our export partners and the producers with whom they work closely—we simply can’t get enough. 

As with many coffee origins, it is believed that coffee was first brought to Colombia by priests, arriving, perhaps, within a decade or two after coffee first came to the Americas via the Caribbean in the first half of the 17th century. It was likely a garden crop grown for local consumption and barter for decades. Generations of Colombians tell the story of a priest named Francisco Romero, who could be called the father of commercial coffee cultivation in Colombia. The folkloric tale goes that in the early 1800s, Father Francisco, hearing confessions in the northeastern town of Salazar de la Palmas, assigned planting coffee to his parishioners as penance for their sins. The Archbishop of Colombia heard about this, and ordered all priests to adopt the practice. Commercial production of coffee expanded quickly, moving into regions where the growing conditions were ideal.

Even though it’s been 4,000 years, the soil resulting from the last major eruption of Tolima is still considered “young soil,” filled with nutrients that are no longer found at the same levels in old soil. Volcanic soil contains high levels of potassium and nitrogen, which are fading or absent in other soils. “Boron,” which arrived from outer space long ago, is also present. Boron plays a key role in a diverse range of plant functions: it is essential to the structure of plant cell walls and in the creation of enzymes, and in flowering and fruit formation, meaning that Boron contributes to coffee seed yield.

In addition to nutrients, the structure of volcanic soil is also beneficial to coffee growing. It can soak up and hold moisture while, at the same time, facilitating good drainage so that the water doesn’t pool, which is not good for coffee plant roots. Coffee plants like to take a drink, then take a break. Additionally, volcanic soils are usually found on an incline, which also helps with drainage. All of these “microclimate” factors come together to bring you the complex, nuanced flavors in your cup of coffee.

For many years Tolima has remained hidden in plain sight between other well-known coffee growing regions because armed conflict and coca leaf production isolated small coffee producers and exposed them to high rates of violence.  As conflict has subsided in recent years, locally organized associations have taken the lead in creating market access for producer’s coffee.

This traceable blend with a vibrant regional profile comes from an association called Cooperativa Multiactiva de Asociaciones Agropecuarias del Tolima (Multicoop), which has 379 producers with small farms in the municipalities of Planadas, Rioblanco and Chaparral. Each producer has their own micro-mill where they carefully harvest cherries, depulp, ferment, wash and gently dry the parchment on raised beds. Their impeccable farm management and post-harvest practices culminate into a clean and consistent blend. But there are also just enough differences from farm to farm to create a rich complexity of flavors.