CENTRAL REGION OF THE COFFEE GROWERS AXIS OF COLOMBIA

The coffees from the Centre of Colombia display a wide range of sensations of varying intensity, with high acidity and full body, and they are fragrant or subtle, sweet, fruity or herbal, largely depending on the altitude at which they are grown and the grower’s framing practices. Harvesting takes place both in the first and second half of the year, with a wide spectrum of farm sizes, from half-hectare small-holdings to a very few farms of more than 100 hectares.

The Central region is where the departments that make up the Coffee-Growers Axis lie, with a strong tradition and coffee culture, and where the bulk of coffee production takes place. The region is admired for its natural beauty, birds varieties (over 347 in Apia Risaralda) and ecological diversity, and boasts imposing snow-capped peaks over 5,000 m high.

Here we find the departments of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda which, together with the northern section of the Valle department, make up the Coffee-Growers Axis of Colombia, with modern plantations coexisting with traditional small-holdings. We also find areas such as the southern Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Boyacá and Norte del Tolima, all traditional coffee growing areas, with volcanic soils on steep and on gentle slopes that they have optimized to produce the excellent quality coffee appreciated by consumers the world over.

In the Central Region, dry and rainy seasons alternate through the months, producing a regular crop of fresh coffee the year round. Here the main harvest takes place between September and December with a second, smaller harvest – the mitaca or traviesa – between April and June.

In Colombia there will always be a coffee to satisfy the most distinguished expert. The challenge is to discover that particular coffee by visiting our web pages at flordeapia.com .

Colombia´s Coffee Cultural Landscape proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia (PCC)  is not merely a scenario: it’s an institution that has developed improvements regarding production and coffee producer´s quality of life; a tradition that has managed to make history, always aware of developing a better product day to day,” said Nuria Sanz, Head of the Latin America and Caribbean unit of the UNESCO World Heritage Center.

The PCC was declared a World Heritage Site during the 35th session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee, held this year in Paris from June 19 to June 29. The PCC´s area is made up of 4 departments divided in 47 municipalities, one of which is APIA RISARALDA, where about 24,000 coffee farms are located and an estimate of 80,000 people live. 

An exceptional example of a sustainable and productive cultural landscape that is unique and representative of a tradition that is a strong symbol for coffee growing areas worldwide. It reflects a centennial tradition of coffee growing in small plots in the high forest and the way farmers have adapted cultivation to difficult mountain conditions. 

Headed by the Colombian Ministry of Culture and the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC), the project required the involvement of a number of academic institutions that also performed the required research and socialization processes to justify the inscription. The results of the investigations were described by UNESCO as a model worth following for future productive and cultural landscapes.

UNESCO’s goal is to catalogue, preserve and promote sites that have exceptional cultural and natural importance so they’re classified as part of the world’s heritage. The designations were made during UNESCO’s 35th session of the General Conference, held June 21 through 29 in Paris.

"We are proud of this achievement, the inscription of this site has great significance for Colombia, since it honors the families who, for decades, have made this area an example of productivity and perseverance," said Maria Angela Holguin, Colombia's foreign minister who also presides over the nations's commission to UNESCO. "Colombia should be proud because this speaks very well of the country to the outside world."

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos celebrated UNESCO’s decision. “June, from now on, will be Coffee Month in Colombia and what is good for the country’s coffee is good for everyone,” he tweeted.

María Claudia López Sorzano, the country’s vice minister of culture, added: “Colombia is greatly honored and full of joy from the inscription of the Coffee Cultural Landscape on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. It is our seventh site on the list but our first cultural landscape, which involves communities from four of the country’s departments that are home to about half a million people.”

A symbol of sustainability to coffee areas worldwide, this site has been able to adapt to natural and geographical features unique in the world. The institutions that coffee growers created throughout the years, which include Coffee Coops, Coffee Growers Committees elected by their peers under the Federation, and world class research entities such as Cenicafe have built a unique social capital around coffee, which UNESCO endorsed as an exceptional value to be reckoned with. These are some of the reasons why Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia (PCC) was recently proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Here we are...to stay

Make "Flor de Apia" a vital part of your daily ritual and fulfill your passion for great coffee.

Coffee Flor de Apia is a pioneer in the total production of coffee from crop to cup, with planting, harvesting, processing and roasting all performed on the farm. We are pure 100% Colombian Coffee.

Blind assessment done by The Coffee Review: "Delicately complex aroma and flavor. Floral top notes, distinct milk chocolate, a hint of cedar, with a clean fruit note that suggests pear in the aroma and lemon in the cup. Brisk acidity, silky mouthfeel. Flavor simplifies in a rich though drying finish."

Who should drink it: Those who enjoy a complex range of flavor in a briskly refreshing, classic breakfast cup.

Visit www.flordeapia.com or call 239-240-3930 for more information.