There are many excellent coffees in the world but the region where one can find universally excellent coffee in the greatest quantities is in the West of Colombia in the Paisa region of largely rural Colombia. This region is the coffee triangle but is also called the coffee growing axis (Eje Cafetero in Spanish). https://youtu.be/iIOfTdEeQ8w

1. By: www.BuyOrganicCoffee.org

2. There are many excellent coffees in the world but
the region where one can find universally
excellent coffee in the greatest quantities is in
the West of Colombia in the Paisa region of
largely rural Colombia. This region is the coffee
triangle but is also called the coffee growing
axis (Eje Cafetero in Spanish).

3. The region produces the majority of Colombia’s
coffee and includes the departments of Caldas,
Quindío, and Risaralda as well as the Northern
regions of the Cauca Valley and Tolima. The
main cities in this area are Manizales, Armenia,
Pereira, and Ibagué.

4. Commercial Coffee Production in Colombia

5. Coffee production in Colombia was
commercialized at the beginning of the 19th
century with earliest coffee growing in the
regions around the original Spanish missions.
It was in the mid-19th century that the now-
famous fourteen families traveled to the series
of mountain ridges where Manizales is located
today and began growing coffee in what
became the heart of Colombian coffee
production, the department of Caldas.

6. Today the dominant departments for coffee
production include Antioquia, Caldas,
Cundinamarca, Huila, Nariño, Norte de
Santander, Quindío, Risaralda, Tolima, and
Valle del Cauca. Of these regions the greatest
producers are still Caldas, Risaralda, Quindío
and Tolima.

7. Why Does the Coffee Triangle Grow Great
Coffee?

8. In the Colombian coffee triangle they only grow
high quality Arabica coffee. Geographically
this region is the Andean rainforest with
temperatures ranging from 8 to 24 degrees
Celsius. Rainfall is plentiful and the soil is rich
and volcanic with the region lies just west of
Colombia’s Northern Volcanic Front where the
still-active volcano Nevada del Ruiz
continually spews ash in a plume from its
summit.

9. Additionally, this region has not gone to overly
mechanized coffee farming. This is partly
because of the mountainous terrain but also
because they simply produce better coffee with
their grain by grain approach. The Juan Valdez
character used in advertising Colombian coffee
represents a Paisa coffee farmer from this
region.

11. Coffee Culture Landscape World Heritage Site

12. This unique region was designated a world
heritage site by the United Nations in 2011
which includes 18 urban areas and 6 sites
within the coffee triangle. The specific areas
were chosen as representative of different types
of traditional coffee growing and culture. These
include Riosucio, Pereira, Salamina, Calarcá
and Armenia as well as smaller towns and
coffee farms throughout rural, mountainous
areas.

13. As a result of this added attention to the region
theme parks have been developed such as the
Colombian National Coffee Park in Quindío as
well as the Museum of Culture Coffee where
various processes are demonstrated. These
facilities also demonstrate aspects of traditional
culture such as folk dances and celebrations.

14. Visiting the Colombian Coffee Triangle

15. For a foreigner who wants to visit the Colombian
Coffee Triangle the best cities for setting up a
“base camp” are Manizales followed by
Pereira. Manizales can be reached by regional
flights from Bogota as can Pereira and Pereira
also has once a day evening flights from
Panama. Manizales is a smaller city with a
400,000 population and our first choice for a
visit.

16. An ideal hotel with a spectacular view of the
mountains and Nevada del Ruiz is the Caretero
on Avenida Santander. Be aware that in neither
Manizales nor Pereira or throughout the coffee
triangle English is not commonly spoken and
rarely understood so brush up on your Spanish
or bring a pocket dictionary.

17. For more insights and useful information about
organic coffee, visit
www.BuyOrganicCoffee.org.