Diversity is also encouraged by the large number of small farms, with those averaging between 1 and 3 hectares producing much of the coffee in the region. The small farms here mainly have their own processing facilities, where the coffee is pulped, fermented, washed and dried.

The structures put in place by the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC) starting as far back as the 1930’s mean that individual farmers here have an access to the market not seen in many other countries in the coffee belt. Information on farming techniques is readily available, and the dry-milling and export system in Colombia has been built from the ground up to deal with micro-lots, down to the work of one single farmer.

Huila is particularly exciting for speciality coffee for several reasons. The land here has not been farmed as intensively as the more developed coffee regions further north, in the famed ‘coffee triangle’ of Armenia, Manizales and Pereira.

Although Huila is well known in speciality circles, coffee arrived here much later, leading to soils which haven’t been exhausted by years of conventional agriculture, and its chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The soil here also has a volcanic element; Colombia’s highest volcano, Nevado del Huila, lies in the north of the region. There is also plentiful high altitude in Huila. The Colombian Andes split into 3 distinct ranges here, the eastern, western and central ‘cordilleras’. This high altitude leads to large day-night swings in temperature, which slows cherry maturation. Further down into the valley between the cordilleras, lies a large area of jungle. Weather systems carry cool, moist air from the jungle up into the coffee growing lands, further lengthening the cherry maturation.

This leads to very intense, sweet and complex cups, but also to the main challenges of producing coffee here.

The cool temperatures, high humidity and frequent rains mean that drying coffee can be a very difficult prospect here, while harvest schedules are long and unpredictable, leading to high labour costs for several rounds of picking.

The many small farms, and relative youth of the coffee industry here, has also led to the main advantage of Huila when compared to other regions in Colombia: it’s agility. Huila’s coffee production has been shaped by the speciality coffee movement; empowered producers with access to market, many growing coffee on newly planted small farms with fertile soils. Many coffee buyers work here, often bidding against each other for the top lots each harvest. Many of the new developments we see in Colombian coffee have their roots in Huila, for better and for worse.

We hope to keep value in smallholder communities through carefully chosen partnerships; supporting quality from each individual farm.

Monkaaba

Monkaaba was founded in 2020 by Esnaider Ortega Gomez and Didier Ortega. Esnaider formerly worked for a larger exporter, but could see that a greater level of transparency, fairness and commitment was possible in the supply chain. In collaboration with Brendan Adams of Semilla, now Monkaaba’s import partner, they set about building their vision.

San Agustin

Esnaider grew up in a household that valued support, community and collaboration. Monkaaba has been built on these values from the start. His father has always been a coffee producer, but instead of seeing others as competition, he has sought to build a community around coffee production, even helping some of his former pickers with loans to purchase their first land. Esnaider and Didier started together with a small group of 6 families, basing their operation out of the family home outside of San Agustin, in Southern Huila. Since then, Monkaaba has grown steadily; for the 2025 harvest they worked together with 80 families around San Agustin, and moved into their own bodega in town.

By producers, for producers

Transparency is a key element of Monkaaba. Producers, even those who don’t work with the project, can bring their coffee, cup it blind with the team, and get feedback on how they could improve. Those who work in the bodega are producers themselves, controlling each stage of the process from farm to export, and ensuring everything remains accessible for members of the project. As producers themselves, the Monkaaba team understands the issues and day to day challenges of this work, and aim to support in any way they can.

Washed Pink Bourbon

The Semilla team introduced us to Monkaaba last year, and together we discussed this larger lot for our seasonal selection. We were looking for a high quality Pink Bourbon lot, but needed a volume larger than most smallholder farmers in San Agustin produce. Didier and Esnaider suggested combining the work of several top producers of Pink Bourbon, allowing us to pay micro-lot prices and secure micro-lot quality, but at greater volume. The producers were paid far above the local FNC pricing; 3.7 million pesos per carga of parchment, over 1 million pesos above the average FNC price during 2025. This lot therefore reflects the flavour profile of top Pink Bourbons from southern Huila, with crisp floral aromas, bright red fruit, and a juicy balance.

Luis Edgar Camacho

Luis grows coffee near Palestina, in the Huila region. He has been working in coffee for many years, and has been part of the strong drive for quality and experimentation in Huila over the past 10 years. Luis has small plots of Geisha, Pink Bourbon, Caturra and Bourbon Fragrancia, and has experimented with processing over the past few years. Luis’ mother also has some larger plots where she grows Pink Bourbon and varietal Colombia, which Luis helps her to process and sell to larger exporting companies.

‘Bourbon’

Luis’ flagship coffees come from his own farm, and LaREB have been very impressed by his professionalism over the past few seasons. The portfolio of samples he delivers each year are carefully organised, with detailed processing information available. This collaboration has been fruitful, Luis and LaREB have been honing in on the profiles that work best, working towards a selection for each coming harvest.

We have expanded our selection for this year, with several small lots from Luis that are new to the La Cabra selection. This is the stalwart Pink Bourbon that we’ve been buying for several years. The route Pink Bourbon took to Colombia is currently unknown, but recent genetic testing confirms Ethiopian heirloom status.

Washed Rosado

For this Pink Bourbon lot, ripe cherries are first fermented in open tanks for 24 hours, before being rinsed and fermented again in sealed tanks for 48 hours. The cherries are then de-pulped before a final fermentation in sealed tanks for 96 hours. Water is added to this final fermentation, slowing the temperature rise for a slow and controlled fermentation. After these three stages of fermentation, the parchment coffee is washed thoroughly and dried in solar driers over 20 to 25 days. This results in a clean yet full expression of Pink Bourbon, with the emphasis on the ripe tropical fruit character of the varietal, here reminiscent of mango and papaya.

Huila is and will continue to be one of the world’s most exciting regions for speciality coffee.

The willingness to embrace change, the sheer number of speciality buyers working there, and the wealth of knowledge and talent in the producing community has led to excellent coffees. Huila has seen some of the fastest development of any region we work in. The advent of new varietals, processes, and producers has been key to Huila’s success, now producing a wider palette of flavour expressions than we thought possible even 5 years ago.

This month’s coffees are excellent examples of the quality that’s possible in the smallholder communities of Huila. We hope you enjoy both this month.