Colombia is a Colombian child. It was develop by Cenicafe when they were looking for varieties which presented the characteristic flavors of arabica but also had better yield and resistance to rust. It was quickly planted all over the country and became a staple coffee

In Colombia we like to separate the varieties between exotic and commercial. Colombia is in the latter category but like its commercial siblings like Caturra or Castillo it can reach very high levels of quality. It is often found as a blend with Castillo. We often have asked farmers if they can separate them, but the trees were often planted next to each other so they cannot guarantee having a single variety.

Blend doesn't mean the coffee is bad, far from it we regularly see those blends in various competitions. During Cup of Excellence 2023 we found Colombia 3 times always in blends. And 4 Colombia during the Colombia Tierra de Diversidad including 2 blends.

Usually Colombia presents higher level of acidity than other coffees. There were a few debates in the 90s about the general levels of acidity of Colombian coffees lowering. And some experts attributed it to the spread of the Colombia variety. But this was dismissed by a reference paper by Cenicafe in 2002.

The Colombia variety was developed during a project between CENICAFE and Centro de Investigaciones de las Royas del Café in Portugal. It was introduced to the to Colombian market in 1980, and it was a FAST adoption. In only 20 years it covered 27% of coffee cultivated land!