The History of Colombian Coffee

GROWING


The story of Colombian Coffee begins in the nursery, where thousands of carefully selected beans are planted. The beans are sown close together and covered with rich, fertile soil.
About eight weeks later, the seeds germinate and roots develop. The healthiest plants are selected and transplanted in the nursery and carefully nurtured for six months. When the seedlings grow to about two feet in height, they are transplanted to the plantation where they are carefully cultivated.
It takes an average coffee tree approximately three to four years to grow to full size and to blossom. The first fruit appears about six months later. Coffee trees are unique; they bear ripened fruits and flowers at the same time. Each coffee tree produces one pound (455 grams) of coffee annually.

PROCESSING

When the coffee beans are a rich, red color, they are ready for harvesting. Only then are the berries picked individually. After the farmer picks all the coffee berries from the tree, they are put into bags and loaded on mules or donkeys.

	They go on to the only mechanical means of help for the farmer, the de-pulping machine. This machine removes the pulp off of the two seeds that are in the center of each berry. The two beans found in the berry are flat on one side and rounded on the other. The pulp, or the red covering that you see, goes back to the soil as fertilizer for new plants and seeds while the beans, still encased in a tough parchment husk, go to large concrete tanks. Here they soak in cold mountain water for 24 hours. The soaking starts a slight fermentation which is of vital importance for the aroma of the coffee. The beans are then carefully washed in long concrete troughs. Any twigs, debris, or poor quality beans are discarded. Unlike beans from other origins, all Colombian Coffee is "washed" coffee, which gives Colombian Coffee its rich taste and aroma.
When the washing is over the beans must be dried. They are scooped up and put into large straw baskets. They are then spread out on great open-air terraces, where they are turned again and again until the wind and sun have dried them completely. It is necessary to cover the beans at night and when it rains.