When we wrote recently about Colombian Arabica organic coffee we received several requests for information and pricing from folks who wanted to buy Arabica coffee directly from Colombia.

If you want good coffee, drink Arabica. If you want great coffee, look for Arabica coffee from Colombia. And if you want the best, look for Colombian Arabica organic coffee. If you want this great coffee shipped directly to you, contact us at Buy Organic Coffee.

The folks who contacted us after the article ranged from people who were simply interested in Colombian coffee to roasters across the globe who were interested in prices and the specifics of getting bulk wholesale green coffee beans shipped from Colombia. With our readers’ and clients’ questions in mind here is some useful information about our business connecting Colombian Arabica coffee growers to coffee lovers everywhere.

Arabica Coffee from Colombia

Yes you can buy Arabica Coffee Directly from Colombia

Colombia ranks only behind Brazil in volume of Arabica coffee production. And Colombia only produces Arabica coffee varieties, no Robusta coffee beans. Much of Robusta production goes to provide caffeine for soft drinks. Colombian Arabica coffee beans go to make the best coffees in the world. The Colombia “Eje Cafetero” or coffee growing axis is also known as el “triangulo de café” or the coffee triangle. It is located west of the Colombian capital city of Bogotá and centered in the departments (states) of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda. Parts of this region were involved in the decades-long Colombian Civil War and now as peace comes to the coffee producing regions are coming back into production. This is a mountainous region (Andes) with rich volcanic soil, lots of rain, and clouds which are conditions ideal for growing great coffee.

Map of Colombia

Is Your Colombian Coffee from the Store Fresh?

Years ago the Colombian Coffee Growers Association trademarked the Juan Valdez name and logo. When you see Juan and his burro on the label that means you are getting 100% Colombian coffee. Colombian coffee is always good coffee but Colombian coffee can get old just like any coffee. We just wrote an article about how long fresh roasted coffee beans last. In the article we noted that green coffee beans store longer than whole bean roasted coffee and whole bean roasted stores longer than ground coffee. And we noted that an issue is just how old the green coffee was when it got roasted. Coffee has a supply chain and it can be long. In Brazil, for example, due to an expensive local currency, coffee farmers put their green beans into storage for years and only sold them when the price, in the local currency, went up. Unfortunately, this green coffee was poor quality despite going into storage as high quality. If you want to be guaranteed fresh green coffee from Colombia it might just be best to buy Arabica coffee directly from Colombia.

Buy Colombian Coffee Directly from Colombia

Besides loving coffee and incessantly writing about coffee, we have come to know folks in the coffee industry in Colombia. Our focus has not been on the huge companies that dominate much of the industry but on small family operations that have been growing, processing, and roasting great Colombian Arabica coffee for generations. We mentioned one such operation in our article about coffee from Manizales, Colombia. Roasting is an art and coffee is their life in this part of the world.

Roasting Coffee

It used to be that the easiest way to get your fresh Arabica coffee from Colombia was to visit Manizales and bring back a suitcase filled with bags of coffee. Of course, one had to pass inspection by the soldiers checking luggage and their drug sniffing dog! But, a couple of years ago Colombia streamlined its export procedures for coffee which has made it easier for mere humans, instead of multinationals, to export coffee from Colombia.

Thus we are pleased to help our clients with getting freshly roasted Colombian Arabica coffee in smaller quantities delivered by air freight within days of roasting.

And, we are pleased to help clients buy commercial quantities of Arabica green coffee beans, ones that are fresh and not ones that have been in storage for years like the story about Brazil.

We have been asked for a price list. We do not maintain a price list. We do not have a warehouse full of coffee that we purchased last year and are trying to sell. When a client wants high quality Arabica coffee from Colombia we contact one of our suppliers, like the family operation in Manizales, and get the best price for the best coffee. The base price for coffee is set by the futures market in New York and if you are in the agricultural office in a village like Chinchiná, Colombia there will be a video monitor on the wall showing the up-to-the-minute New York price. That price is the base price from which all prices are calculated. The price for Colombian coffee goes up with the size of the bean. Arabica coffee grown at high altitudes ripens more slowly and grows larger. This is typically a finer coffee.

Colombian Coffee Grades

Green coffee is run through a series of screens with openings starting at size 17 = 17/64 inch. Larger beans are typically better and the largest are from Arabica grown more slowly at higher altitudes which are typically the best quality.

And coffee roasters need uniform bean size when roasting a batch, otherwise the small beans are over-done and the batch is bad.

The largest bean size in Colombian coffee is Supremo = size 17 followed by Excelso = size 15-16, USG (usual good quality) = size 14 and Caracol = size 12.

Coffee Screens

Organic, Coffee of Origin, Standard Colombian Arabica Coffee

There is a lot of Colombian Arabica coffee and it is relatively easy to find a decent price for our clients. Organic coffee is grown in smaller quantities and much of the organic production is already spoken for as buyers have agreements in place to take all of a farm’s production. We can still find organic coffee for you but quantities will vary and the price is higher. If you want to find an organic producer and set up your own supply chain we will be happy to help. Coffee of origin is a popular choice as the various parts of the coffee growing district will produce coffees with differing tastes, much like with wine. And, like with organic coffee, quantities will vary and the price is higher.

Getting the Coffee from Colombia to You

We are pleased to help coffee gourmets who want smaller quantities or green beans to roast or freshly roasted Colombian Arabica coffee. Our supplier will simply arrange to send to you via air freight. This service is typically for gourmet coffee lovers for whom price is little object. The coffee is still reasonably priced but the cost of shipping is typically as much or more than the cost of the coffee!

Coffee roasters from anywhere in the world can go through us to buy Arabica coffee directly from Colombia. Contact us and let us know what quantity of green coffee beans you want.

Our usual arrangement is FOB shipping. This term means “free on board” and means that we and our supplier are responsible for getting the shipment to the port for shipping. And then your shipper will take over to store the coffee, load it on the boat, handle export/import and deliver to you in the end.

FOB Delivery to Colombia Ports

Colombia has two main ports, Cartagena on the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic Ocean) and Buenaventura on the Pacific Coast. To avoid the extra price of shipping through the Panama Canal it is best to pick Buenaventura for shipments to the west coast of the America, Australia, and Asia. Shipments to the US gulf coast and East coast as well as Europe should ship via Cartagena.

If you wish to have us handle shipping from Colombia our suppliers can do that but at an extra cost. Your best bet is to use your own shipper who speaks your own language as well.

If you have questions about how to buy Arabica coffee directly from Colombia please feel free to contact us at your convenience. We can typically provide you with a price quote in a day or two. Of course the price of coffee goes up and down, so all quotes are time limited.

A Land of Volcanoes That Produces Arabica Coffee

Colombia has an ideal climate for growing coffee. Coffee needs lots of water but the water should run off. Thus coffee in Colombia grows on hillsides and mountainsides and even on the slopes of volcanoes like Nevado Ruiz which looms over the city of Manizales.

Nevado Ruiz Volcano Overlooking Manizales

Buy Arabica Coffee Directly from Colombia PPT