Los Angeles

Coffees grown in Huila are highly prized in our industry, for several reasons. The mountainous terrain provides high altitudes and varying microclimates, leading to a diverse flavour spectrum throughout the area. Diversity is also encouraged by the large number of small farms, with those averaging between 1 and 3 hectares producing much of the coffee in the region. The small farms here mainly have their own processing facilities, both wet mills, where the coffee is pulped, fermented and washed, and space for drying the coffees. Huila is particularly exciting for speciality coffee due to its plentiful high altitude. The Colombian Andes split into 3 distinct ranges here, the eastern, western and central ‘cordilleras’. This high altitude leads to large day-night swings in temperature, which slows cherry maturation. Further down into the valley between the two cordilleras, lies a large area of jungle. Weather systems carry cool, moist air from the jungle up into the coffee growing lands, further lengthening the cherry maturation. All this leads to very intense, sweet and complex cups, but also to one of the main challenges of producing coffee in this region. The cool temperatures and high level of humidity mean that drying coffee can be a very difficult prospect here.