The Science of Coffee Why one Colombian farmer chose specialty, and the other walked away
Jun 9, 2025
Travel to Colombia’s Huila region to explore why some farmers embrace specialty coffee while others walk away. Discover the contrasting choices of two producers, driven by hidden barriers and personal circumstances. Delve into the economic and environmental factors influencing their paths, revealing surprising truths about the coffee industry. This fascinating discussion uncovers what can be done to encourage more farmers to grow specialty coffee and highlights the complexity behind their decisions.
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Visiting A Commodity-Focused Farm
- James meets Andres on Finca Monte Bonito and discovers a commodity-focused farm with dense, high-yield Catimor trees.
- Andres shows a fast, volume-oriented processing workflow including stripping, two-day fermentation, and 15-day drying.
Specialty Farm Tour With Eric Bravo
- James tours Finca El Chafarote with Eric Bravo and finds steep, forested terrain and spaced exotic varieties like Pink Bourbon.
- Eric details slower, more careful picking, extra flotation sorting, longer fermentation, and laborious hand-sorting for specialty quality.
Initial Profitability Surprise
- James' initial Excel model suggested specialty doubled profitability for Eric and more than doubled it for Andres in 2023.
- The raw numbers made the host question why commodity producers wouldn't switch immediately.