Colombia is one of the world’s top coffee producers. It is believed that coffee arrived in Colombia by way of a Jesuit priest sometime in the 1730’s. Colombia’s first export was a shipment of 2500 pounds that arrived in the United States in 1835. By 1860, coffee was one of the dominant Colombian agricultural exports.
Colombia is now the world’s second largest coffee producer, second only to Brazil. Colombia grows only varieties of high quality Arabica, which is lower in caffeine and acidity. Its 2006 production peaked in 2006 at about 12 million sacks. A sack is 60kg or 132 pounds.
Colombian coffee is processed using the washed method, a process that purifies and de-acidifies the beans, producing a coffee with a richer taste and stronger aroma.
Coffee production has been down for the past few years due to fungus, bad weather and weather conditions. January production is down 41% from a year earlier to a level of 32.1 million kg. The annual production for 2011 was 7.8 million sacks, down from historic highs of 11 million sacks.
It is expected to take about three or four years for the coffee trees to mature before Colombia coffee production returns to its previous years’ production.
Enjoy a cup of Colombia Supremo by ordering a bag today.