First introduced in the early 18th Century by Jesuits, coffee production grew until by early in the 20th. Century coffee production comprised approximately 50% of exports.

Colombia has slowly become one of the largest coffee producers in the world and its position is defensed and enhances by the FNC a well funded bureaucracy controlled by its 500,000 members. The FNC’s interests in defending the farmers may not always lead to the best quality coffee. And often favors yield quantity. The FNC, as part of the promotion of Colombian coffee, created the terms “Supremo” and “Excelso” terms related to bean size not to quality.

Unfortunately this classification obscures any traceability as to farm origin. Colombian coffees have a huge range of flavors, from the heavier, chocolatier coffees through to jammy, sweet fruity lots.