The Cupper's Notebook

September 2006

A Visit to Colombia

Diana Chan, SWDCC Green Coffee Buyer

Earlier this year, in May, I traveled to Colombia  to have a look at both conventional and organic production—and of course to reconnect with origin quality control. As this was my second trip to Colombia, I wanted to try something a little different and see new things, so my focus was going to be on organics, and if possible, Rainforest Alliance Certified coffees.

I love flying into Colombia, because I never tire of looking at the Andes Mountains (and I secretly wish the plane could just drop me off at the highest peak!). Here in British Colombia, we have fabulous mountains too, so I guess that’s why I feel at home in Colombia. I spent some time with the Carcafe group, cupping with Sandra Prieto, checking out the regional qualities and having an open discussion on cup profiles and preferences. It was interesting to cup coffees that could cup pleasantly sweet on a ‘good day,’ but on a ‘bad day,’ cup fruity ferment. This is why I appreciate the face-to-face dialog with expert origin cuppers who cup nothing but their own origin, and who cup coffees from all regions and sub-regions, throughout the year, year after year. I took a day trip southwest to Neiva, with Angela Pineda, to meet with a coffee grower whose land cultivated a diverse range of fruits, flowers and tiny little orange fish (I thought they were too cute to eat, but apparently they’re very tasty!). Amazingly enough, I was also able to visit a charming farm less than an hour’s drive from Bogota, called El Porvenir. By the time you read this, El Porvenir will have been organically certified. It’s a great place for travelers to see a farm in the early stages of organic production. 

Later that week, I spent a couple of days in the Eastern Cordillera at Oswaldo Acevedo Gomez’s Café Mesa De Los Santos (“Table of Saints”) in Bucaramanga. For those of you who haven’t flown into Palonegro Airport in Bucaramanga, you will literally gasp on touch-down, because you’re flying through the mist, thinking you’re still high up in the air, and then the plane suddenly touches down on the runway! As you drive out of the airport, you realize that the airport is actually on top of a plateau (very different from our own Vancouver International Airport, which is at sea level). 

During the 45-minute drive through Bucaramanga to Mesa de los Santos, I saw a lot of housing development catering to vacationers and people who could afford second homes. The climate was humid and the greenery lush. The final approach to the farm was incredible, and I understood immediately how this Organic and Rainforest Alliance Certified farm earned its reputation for beauty and tranquility.

During my stay at the hacienda, I met Fermin Alba, the administrator, his wife Mariam, and his assistant, Fernanda Riano. I learned about worm culture, compostaje preparation, natural/herbal insecticides (e.g. lemon balm and mint plants), pesticides and fertilizers (e.g. mixing coffee husks with chicken manure and earthworms) and even fungus used to control coffee plant diseases. I did some cupping with Jose Antonio Martinez, who does the Quality Assurance. Fernanda and Fermin took me for a morning horseback ride through the multi-layered canopy of forest, pointing out the Caturra, Bourbon, Colombia and Typica coffee trees and the various hardwood and fruit trees. There was so much tree and wildlife diversity that I found it hard to remember all the names, but I learned to check for partly-eaten fruit at the base of trees, to recognize the presence of migratory and resident birds. I saw workers applying natural compost to each coffee bush, to control soil acidity—they were all hard-working and yet always so generous with their smiles. At night, I appreciated the abundance of the bat population (thank goodness for their sonar ability in avoiding nighttime collisions with me!). Investment is evident on the farm, not only into coffee (e.g. huge tractors, and trucks to transport workers), but also in the nearby school and church and even laying groundwork for a landing strip for the convenience of visitors such as President Uribe. On this 340HA farm, there is an estacion climatica (weather station), and a nursery for coffee and shade trees and three natural lakes. 

Just before leaving, I visited Devil’s Jump and the Chicamocha Canyon, and I was already planning my next return trip to Colombia. In town, I was nearly mobbed by the local children, who rarely see foreigners, especially oriental women from Canada! They were very curious to hear me speak and tell them what I thought of Colombian coffee. I was sad to leave, but with my Santander machete in-hand (actually, in my check-in baggage), I bid this country and its people a fond farewell.