Colombian Coffee Farmers Folks Who Work Tirelessly to Bring You the Best Cuppa!
If you have not been to Colombia, let us tell you how coffee is so intricate in our compatriots’ lives and why we are the lively and culturally famous South American nation for producing the best coffee in the world.
Well, this article is not about the smooth, well-balanced Colombian coffee beans , but about the farmers who grow them. More than 25,000 families grow coffee on approximately 850,000 hectares of land, which makes Colombia the third-largest producer in the world after Brazil and Vietnam.
No one but a coffee farmer knows the hard work required into producing a single cup of coffee. It was not until 1835 that the country registered its first commercial coffee production to export more than 2000 bags. Before this period, Colombian farmers were hesitant about exporting and growing coffee.
The fact that farmers feared most was the economic devastation that stood in the way of growing coffee. Each Colombian coffee plant takes 3 to 5 years to deliver its first product, a terrifying fact for someone starting in the coffee production business.
Fighting against adversity, the “Landscape of Colombian Coffee Culture” is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In recent decades, the coffee business in Colombia has experienced many ups and downs, but the patience and passion of its coffee farmers remain incredibly strong!
A Colombian coffee farmer understands the value of time very well and leaves no stone unturned to give you that perfect sip of coffee. Daily life on a Colombian coffee farm begins early in the morning and ends a few hours before sunset.
Technology may have evolved globally, but Colombian Coffee farmers love to pick cherries the old-fashioned way. Cherries are hand-picked and are the reason for Colombia’s high-quality coffee. For those of you who don’t know, it’s the cherries that carry the coffee beans inside, which is another kind of hard work.
However, Colombian coffee growers never turn their back on the products. Nothing can stop a Colombian coffee farmer from fulfilling their harvests every day, be it the scorching heat or the endless rains. Without a doubt, coffee growers in Colombia have developed their resilience to overcome all the tests they are subjected to at the hands of nature.
Climate Change and Falling Prices
If you have ever read about the Colombian coffee culture, you should know that the coffee region is also known as the Coffee Triangle. The coffee axis has four departments:
Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, and Tolima.
All the farmers in the region are working in one of the previous areas. The business has been passed down from generation to generation; however, the successors run into difficulties that their predecessors never warned them about.
Currently, most Colombian coffee growers are struggling to combat climate change and the fall in world coffee prices. The double pressure has even forced many small coffee producers to give up growing coffee.
Reports say that the region where Colombian coffee is produced is warming at a rate of 1.2 degrees Celsius per year. Severe climatic changes have been reported in the coffee-growing regions of Colombia; Either it will be sunny or it will continue to rain all day. Weather patterns are affecting the flowering and fruiting cycle of coffee.
A recent study has indicated that Colombia recently lost a coffee-growing area of 40,000 hectares due to climate change and falling prices. However, the deep-seated love for coffee in the region also strengthens most farmers, who want their children to carry on the legacy.
The adversities of their fellow farmers have alarmed them to make some fundamental changes, such as the choice of harvest. Farmers are opting for cherries that can tolerate climate change in the region.
There is no denying the fact that the next generations of Colombian coffee growers must be well prepared for the challenges that await them.
Another study has claimed that climate change will reduce the global area suitable for growing coffee by 50%. Unquestionably, small farmers who have produced coffee for the past few generations could face pressure to leave their beloved businesses. In the next five decades, we will see a drastic change in the coffee business and an increase in the price of this beloved, so desired drink globally, especially in Colombia.
Until then, El Cafetero Colombiano is living his life to the fullest. And has prepared for the atrocities to come and does not let his crops be affected by the worries of the future, he continues to leave his house to pick some of the best cherries from his coffee plantations at the right time and will continue working even in hot weather rain or shine just to give you the best cup of coffee.
El Cafetero will continue in its initiative aimed at helping the brothers by taking their premium, hand-selected products to different parts of the world, to those places on the map that still don’t know what good coffee tastes like.
If you are one of the many people who have always been on an expedition to find the most authentic tasting coffee, your search has come to an end!
We pledge 10% of each sale for the well-being of Colombian farmers.
Looking for the best coffee beans in Israel? El Cafetero brings you premium artisanal coffee from Colombia’s finest and highest mountains right to your door!
It’s time to prepare your palate for an unprecedented coffee experience that will make you fall in love from the first sip!
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