Huila, Colombia

Origin

• 🇨🇴 Colombia· Huila

Tasting notes

Character

• Clean
  30

Region: Garzon, Huila Producer: Farmer Collective Altitude: 1300 - 1900 MASL Process: WashedWashed processThe fruit is removed from the seed before drying, usually with fermentation and a water rinse. Tends to give clean, transparent cups where origin character shows clearly. VarietyVariety (cultivar)The botanical subtype of the coffee plant — Gesha, Bourbon, SL28 — analogous to grape varieties in wine. A major driver of cup character alongside origin and process.: CaturraCaturraA natural dwarf mutation of Bourbon found in Brazil: compact plants, easier picking, bright and clean cup. A workhorse across Latin America., CastilloCastilloColombia's leaf-rust-resistant variety, bred by Cenicafé from Caturra and Timor hybrid. Long dismissed by purists, it now wins competitions when grown and processed well., Colombia, BourbonBourbonOne of the two foundational arabica varieties (with Typica), named after Île Bourbon (Réunion). Sweet, balanced, caramel-leaning; parent of countless modern cultivars. Tasting NotesTasting notesThe flavors a roaster perceives in the cup — 'jasmine, apricot, black tea'. Descriptive associations, not ingredients: nothing is added to the coffee.: Caramel, Panela, Red Fruits About Huila In the late 1800s, a nationwide initiative to strengthen Colombia’s agricultural economy saw Arabica coffee introduced to several regions, including Huila. SmallholdersSmallholderA farmer growing coffee on a small family plot — often under two hectares. Most of the world's coffee is grown this way, typically pooled at cooperatives or washing stations. in and around Garzon, Huila started growing coffee alongside other cash crops like sugarcane and maize. With the Andean foothills surrounding Garzon, coffee can be found growing as low as 1300 and as high as 1900 meters above sea level, offering a diverse range in cultivar and quality. Together with volcanic soil and stable rainfall, the region is prime for consistently producing fine regional and micro-lots. Garzon serves as a hub for collecting coffee from smaller nearby towns and rural farms—an essential transit point for smallholders in the region. From the 70s to 90s, volatile global coffee prices paired with armed civil conflict impacted grower livelihoods, forcing many to diversify income sources or migrate for work. Despite the instability and disruptions to trade, many farmers in the region persisted, upholding deep-rooted tradition and pride in agriculture. During the global rise of the specialty coffee movement in the early 2000s, Garzon and Huila at large gained recognition among international roasters for high-quality washed process coffee. As the majority of Colombian producers classify as smallholders, they nearly always rely on a cooperative model to sell their coffee to an international market. Within the last 5 years, one of Garzon's primary cooperatives went out of business and left smallholders in a vulnerable position without access to market—thus the start of the company Helvetia, the trader that we sourced this regional lot from. Helvetia was established in 2021 to support the growers and act as a link between producers and the international market. Helvetia now purchases coffee directly