Colombia – The Third Largest Coffee Producer
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Colombia or officially the Republic of Colombia is the 4th largest country in South America and the 26th largest in the world. Accordingly, it is the 29th largest population in the world and the second most populous country in South America, next to Brazil. Colombia is part of the Pacific ring of fire where they are prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The weather in Colombia is largely determined by its closeness to the equator, which essentially means that it is predominantly tropical. There is what they call Tierra Templada or temperate land, which is the best place to grow coffee in the country.
This is the main reason, among other things, that Colombia is the third largest producer of coffee in the world. Although Colombia is a distant third to Brazil at only 16% coffee production, it is still very competitive and far from Indonesia with less than at 7% production, and Mexico at fourth with only 4% coffee production.
It was in the early 1800′s when coffee was first introduced to the land of Colombia, but it was on 1835 when plantation and cultivation of the product began. The coffee in Colombia are grown in altitude. It is one of the richest coffee in the world as it is described as full bodied and perfectly balanced.
Different historical statements agree that coffee in Colombia was brought by visiting Jesuit priests from Europe in the 16th century. There are two regions that Colombian coffee is grown. The first is in the Central MAM region around Medellin, Armenia and Manizales. The second is on the more mountainous Eastern side where Bogota and Bucaramanga lie.
The coffee flavour from the first region is said to be full bodied, rich, and with balanced acidity. While the coffee from the mountainous side of the region is said to be even more richer with very minimal acidity. This is why the finest coffee in Colombia comes from this mountainous region.
It was only very recently that Vietnam surpassed Colombia in coffee production. Vietnam actually produces almost 6 more tonnes of coffee than Colombia at this moment. The thing is, many people still believe that the Colombian coffee is superior than coffee grown in Vietnam. This is, of course, an opinion of a vocal majority of coffee drinkers and is echoed by coffee experts all around the world. Experts believe that the Robusta product of Vietnam is inferior compared to the rich, full bodied, and balanced Coffea Arabica L. of the high altitudes of Colombia.
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Australian Chef- Matthew J. Goudge is the mastermind behind the formation of the ProChef360 platform.
Colombia is still a very important contributor to the coffee world. While production is ramping up in Vietnam and it does not have the same history in production of fine coffee, it is fast catching up and many of its better brands are now finding their way into the main streets of the developed world.
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