Boyacá coffee beans from Colombia

Boyacá is a department (province) in central Colombia and one of the country's earliest regions for coffee cultivation, boasting a long history of coffee farming. Coffee growing is primarily concentrated in the narrow mountain range that stretches from north to south across Colombia. The coffee farms in Boyacá are situated at relatively lower altitudes, typically ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 meters above sea level. As a result, the quality of the coffee beans produced here is comparatively lower than those grown in regions south of Boyacá.

According to data published by the ICO in 2014, there are approximately 500,000 small farms in Colombia engaged in coffee production, whereas Boyacá has only a little over 10,000 farms, indicating a relatively small output. It is considered a minor coffee-growing region within Colombia. High-quality coffee is mainly produced in southeastern regions such as Huila.

Boyacá experiences two rainy seasons: one from March to May and another from September to November. Coffee trees typically begin to flower after the rains, and it takes more than half a year for the fruits to gradually ripen. Therefore, the region has two harvest seasons per year, allowing coffee roasters in Colombia’s central coffee-growing areas to supply fresh, in-season coffee beans almost year-round.

Once the coffee cherries are ripe, local farmers pick them, after which they are mostly processed by individual small farms. The harvested coffee cherries are carefully processed at their own managed wet processing facilities. This represents a small-farm production model, enabling better control over coffee bean quality. Another characteristic is that Colombian wet-processed coffee beans tend to have more silver skin.