Huila, Colombia

Huila, in southern Colombia where the Central and Eastern Andean cordilleras converge, is the country's largest and most decorated producing department, regularly dominating the Colombian Cup of Excellence. Tens of thousands of smallholders farm steep slopes from about 1,200 to over 2,000 metres around towns like Pitalito, Acevedo, and Garzón, growing Caturra, the rust-resistant Castillo and Colombia varieties, and increasingly Pink Bourbon. Two harvests a year — a main crop late in the year and the 'mitaca' around April–June — yield fully washed coffees defined by caramel and panela sweetness, red-fruit and citric acidity, and a rounded body. Huila exemplifies how Colombia's smallholder model and Andean geography combine to produce consistent, traceable specialty lots.

At a glance

• Altitude: 1200–2000 masl
• Typical varieties: Caturra, Castillo, Colombia, Pink Bourbon
• Common processes: Washed
• Harvest: 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12

Climate

Equatorial Andean climate with two flowerings and two harvests per year.

Soil & terroir

Volcanic and sedimentary mountain soils on steep slopes.