Coffee Agribusiness: Discovering the Excellence of Coffee - TvAgro by Juan Gonzalo Angel Restrepo

Colombian Coffee History and Production
📌 Coffee originated in Ethiopia and was introduced to Colombia around the 17th century via the Jesuits.
☕ Coffee historically represented about 55% of national imports and is a crucial product for the Colombian economy.
🗺️ Major coffee-producing regions include Tolima, the Eje Cafetero (Coffee Axis), and Huila, securing Colombia the third position globally in production.

Utopía's Extreme Cultivation and Processing
💧 The Utopía campus, located in Yopal at only 239 meters above sea level, grows specialty coffee under extreme conditions, as ideal altitude ranges from 1,000 to 2,000 meters.
🏭 To add value and differentiate their product, the process focuses on transforming the coffee by implementing an anaerobic fermentation of 24 hours for natural and honey-processed lots.
🌱 The coffee is dried to a 12% moisture content before hulling and then sorted using sieves (meshes 18 down to 13) to ensure homogeneous, high-quality beans (Malla 18 being the largest).

Roasting Profiles and Tasting Notes
🔥 Medium roast highlights origin characteristics, resulting in a sweet flavor, moderate acidity, and pleasant body, typical of Utopía coffee.
⚫ High roast is used to mask defects in less uniform beans, achieving a homogenized, pleasant taste for the consumer.
👃 The coffee tasting practice used a ratio of 40g of coffee per 1.2 liters of water (or 6–8g per 100 ml cup) for the French press.

Coffee Cupping Results and Conclusion
🏆 In the blind tasting practice, Sample Number 2 (Utopía brand) received the highest overall favorable rating from the participants.
🔬 The tasting revealed that superior processing, specifically the wet milling technique, creates differentiation and value, even when growing coffee at non-ideal altitudes.
📈 Producers are encouraged to experiment with different processing methods to unlock new business opportunities and achieve better product pricing, regardless of altitude.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ The successful cultivation at 239m altitude demonstrates that innovative processing (like 24-hour anaerobic fermentation) can lead to specialty coffee competitive in the market.
➡️ The primary factor differentiating coffee quality and marketability among the tested samples was the wet benefit (processing) performed, not solely the altitude of cultivation.
➡️ Producers should actively explore alternative benefit processes to enhance their product and gain access to better pricing and new business avenues.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Mar 18, 2026, 01:38 UTC