Colombia - Region : Huila
Huila is a mountainous department in south-western Colombia, nestled between the Eastern and Central ranges of the Andes and carved by the upper Magdalena River. Towns and farms cling to the slopes above the valley, while the snow-capped volcano Nevado del Huila – whose Indigenous Páez name can be translated as “luminous mountain” – dominates the skyline and gives the region its name.
For coffee, Huila’s terroir is unusually favourable. The narrow Magdalena Valley, combined with humid air masses coming from the Orinoquía plains and the Amazon basin, produces frequent cloud cover and reduced sunlight. Average sun exposure is estimated at around 1,260 hours per year – barely three to four hours a day. Lower average temperatures slow down cherry maturation, allowing the fruit to accumulate more sugars, lipids and chlorogenic acids, which later translate into a layered and complex cup profile.
Huila is also one of Colombia’s most important coffee-growing regions in terms of scale, with over 150,000 hectares planted in coffee and roughly 18% of the country’s total production. In 2013 it received Denomination of Origin status as “Café de Huila”. Farming here is overwhelmingly small-scale: around 80% of producers cultivate less than three hectares of land, and most are family farms that have gradually shifted from commodity production towards quality-focused specialty coffee.
In the cup, Huila coffees are often described as sweet, balanced and nuanced. The Denomination of Origin highlights a delicate profile with bright acidity, medium body, sweet notes and fruity, caramel-like aromatics. Buyers frequently find citrus, pineapple, raisin and red cherry notes, sometimes with floral top notes and milk-chocolate sweetness. Thanks to this combination of clarity, sweetness and complexity, Huila has become a favourite origin among roasters and baristas, with regular appearances in competitions such as the Cup of Excellence.