Colombia

Medium body and winelike acidity, with hints of brown sugar, cherry, and molasses, from the Tolima region. The coffee beans are organically grown and fairly traded, and air roasted in small batches in Lancaster, Pa.

The Country
Located in the northwest of South America, Colombia has a varied landscape including Caribbean and Pacific coastlines, snowcapped mountains, tropical rainforests, and savannahs. Coffee arrived in Colombia in the early 1700s. has been a very important part of the Colombian economy, and coffee prices significantly impact the economic development of the country. The Tolima department is in the heart of Colombia, and is good coffee-growing land because of its mountains, valleys, and rivers.

The Coffee
In the mid-1800s, Colombians began exporting coffee. By the early 1900s, it was Colombia’s main export. The fictional character Juan Valdez was created in 1959, to further boost coffee sales. This character associates coffee with the qualities of taking pride in hard work; commitment to family and community; commitment to the environment; and more. And though he is a fictional character, Juan Valdez represents the standards and values of the hardworking Colombian people who work with coffee. Colombian coffee is recognized as a denomination of origin, and it is harvested twice a year; first in May-August and again in October-January. Colombia is the third leading coffee producer in the world.

The Co-op
Lohas Beans is a B-Corp that offers coffees from 22 coffee associations across 6 regions of Colombia. It has led the specialty coffee exporters of Colombia since 2011. Lohas Beans impacts entire communities where it works, because of the particular business model it has developed. The B-Corp offers coffees from the Tolima region, the second-highest coffee producing region in all of Colombia.