Colombian
coffee
History
A brief history of the coffee cultivation in Colombia and the coffee culture.
1723
Coffee beans from Africa made their way around the world in the late 1600s, and brought to Colombia around 1723 by Jesuit priests.
1900s
By the end of 19th century, production had increased from 60,000 bags to more than 600,000 bags (of 60 kg each). At the time the production was a the hand of powerful large landowners. The early 1900s brought a great fall in the international market prices which bankrupted many large landowners. The crisis saw a redistribution of some coffee farms and also a shift to small producers, a structure which exists until today.
1930
By 1930, Colombia was the world’s second largest coffee producer, behind Brazil. Coffee was one of their main exports, and a driving force behind their economy.
1958
In 1958, the iconic Juan Valdez character was introduced into advertisements for Colombian coffee. He represents the farmers who grow the beans.
1990s to today
In the 1980s, coffee agreement fell apart along with the price minimum. Since then, more countries, especially some in Asia, have increased production and took a large share of global coffee, also driving some prices down
In 2009 Colombia coffee faced a crisis when extreme weather and coffee rust decimated Colombia’s crop and production fell to its lowest levels in decades with.
The industry has recovered since then however just as in many areas global climate change means the cultivation areas are shrinking and shifting to higher altitude. With fluctuating prices and no global price agreement it means it will be more difficult to adapt in the coming years.
1835
In 1835, the first bags produced in the eastern zone were first exported to the United States which as the beginning of the export industry.
1927
In 1927, the Colombia Coffee Growers Federation (Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia) was founded. This non-profit cooperative aims to represent coffee farmers in Colombia, collectively, to give smaller farms more power against the massive entities that had historically had a stranglehold on Colombian coffee production.
They support farmers rights, research into better growing methods to increase yield, and awareness of 100% Colombia Coffee, as opposed to blends that contain coffee from other countries mixed in with beans from Colombia.
1938
In 1938 the Research Centre, CENICAFE was born, it was responsible for achievements like the “Castillo” variety, resistant to diseases such as rust.
1962
Colombia signed the International Coffee Agreement with 69 other countries and set a price minimum for export. As coffee prices recovered, Colombia’s small-holder coffee farmers started thriving.By the 1970s, Colombia was using the coffee farmer, or cafetero, as a marketing tool around the world.
