Colombia Tolima 771

Like many other types of coffee, coffee is first thought to have been brought to Colombia by priests, probably a year or two after coffee first arrived in the Americas via the Caribbean in the first half of the 17th century. It was probably a garden plant grown over decades for local consumption and barter. Unlike other coffee-producing regions, we have the story of a priest named Francisco Romero, who can be considered the father of commercial coffee cultivation in Colombia. According to folklore, in the early 18th century, when Father Francisco heard confessions in the northeastern town of Salazar de Palmas, he commissioned parishioners to grow coffee as an atonement for their sins. When the Archbishop of Colombia heard about this, he ordered all priests to adopt this practice. Commercial coffee production expanded rapidly and moved to areas with ideal growing conditions.

Even though 4,000 years have passed, the soil formed during Tolima’s last major eruption is still considered “young soil,” filled with nutrients that no longer contain the same amounts in older soil. Volcanic soils contain a long list of elements that are lacking or deficient in other soils, such as high levels of potassium and nitrogen. There is also something called “boron” which was brought from space a long time ago and is important for the formation of cell walls, enzymes and the production of flowers and fruits, which means boron helps with yields. In addition to nutrients, the structure of the volcanic soil is also beneficial to coffee cultivation. It absorbs and retains moisture while providing good drainage so there is no accumulation of water, which is detrimental to the roots of the coffee plant. Coffee plants love to take a drink and then take a break. Additionally, volcanic soils are often located on slopes, which also aids in drainage

Although the valley town of Gaitania is located in the Tolima department of Colombia and is named after the Tolima volcano, it is the Huila volcano that looms on the southern horizon. The northern foothills of Huila have nutrient-rich volcanic soil and are home to many small coffee plantations around Gaitania.