BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombia is not only the country with greatest diversity of coffee flavors, but the world’s leading provider of specialty coffee, the fastest-growing industry segment, said the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) CEO, Roberto Vélez (PICTURE), speaking during the opening of Cafés de Colombia Expo 2017 in Bogota last month.
“Colombia is the country with the greatest diversity of coffee flavors, a country with such differences in latitudes, soils and environmental supply. All this produces a wide range of coffee profiles,” Vélez noted.
He recalled that since the 1960s Colombia has been a pioneer in the global specialty coffee industry by, for instance, betting on single origin of 100% Colombian coffee in a context dominated by blends, and by promoting the variety of highly differentiated specialty coffee it produces.
The range of sensory attributes that Colombian coffee features is even more complex than that of wine.
This diversity encourages Colombian coffee consumers to explore the wide range of notes and nuances offered by each cup of coffee. “There is a Colombian specialty coffee for every palate and a palate for every Colombian coffee,” he said.
Vélez also stressed that coffee farming has become an important substitute for illicit crops.
“Peasants who replace their illicit crops with coffee speak about their past with shame and about their present with pride.”
The number of domestic and foreign visitors the fair receives every year, its relevant academic agenda, and the possibility of doing business at the highest level have positioned it as a must-see event in the global coffee industry.
A bit of history
Cafés de Colombia Expo 2017 (formerly ExpoEspeciales) has been able to renew itself by involving more and more actors of the coffee industry, including consumers.
The first edition was held in 2008 in Neiva, Huila. Aiming at promoting different Colombian coffee regions, the expo was held in Ibagué (2009), Pasto (2010), Bogotá (2011 and 2013), Popayán (2012) and Medellín (2014).
Given the strategic location of the Colombian capital and Corferias’ optimal infrastructure for receiving more and more exhibitors and visitors, Bogotá (Corferias) has been the venue of the expo since 2015.
