STiR coffee and tea magazine

28 STiR coffee and tea | 2024 Issue 5 (October / November) C Spotlight on Colombian Export Processing Equipment by Emilio Bonnet olombian coffee is renowned for its exceptional quality, backed by a solid and well-funded infrastructure. According to the International Coffee Organiza- tion (ICO), Colombia was the first producer of mild arabica coffee in 2023, with a total output of 10.6 million 60-kg bags of green coffee beans. Ideal growing conditions for arabica, combined with a global reputation for unique flavors and aro- mas, and an advanced coffee industry equipped with modern export processes, further strengthen Colombia's position as a leader in the global coffee market. With its vast range of 86 distinct agro-ecological zones defined as geographically specific regions with varied climate, soil, and terrain conditions that promote compa- rable coffee cultivation responses—Colombia excels in producing some of the finest coffee beans globally. This achievement is supported by ideal growing environments and a long-standing tradition in coffee farming. However, this rich tradition and envi- ronmental diversity would be less impactful without the right technological packages and specialized equipment to ensure successful delivery. High-quality in-farm processing equipment and assembled production lines, such as Becolsub ® (short for Ecological Coffee and Subproducts Processing in Spanish) modules, specialized fermentation tanks, Ecomill ® (fermenting and washing technol- ogy developed by Cenicafe), coffee quality control labs, and drying machines, are es- sential for effectively managing coffee quality, reducing costs, adding value and signifi- cantly minimizing the environmental impact of in-farm coffee processing. However, from the farm gate to the port, there is still much work and pro- cessing to be done, and the approach var- ies depending on the scale, target market, and resources of the exporting company. To learn more, STiR spoke with engineer Nelson Moya, founder of Ingesec and cofounder of TritoCafé, who has been manufacturing machinery for the coffee sector for more than 20 years and export- ing to +20 different countries and with Ligia Leite, a Brazil-born and Bogotá based specialty coffee trader for Colom- bia and Perú at Volcafe, a company that in 2020 became one of the top three cof- fee merchants, sourcing around 12% of the world's export market. The Role of Coffee Processing Equipment in Export Preparation Typically, in Colombia, dry parchment coffee leaves the farm to begin the next stage of processing. If the coffee meets both national standards and buyer-spe- cific quality requirements in physical and sensory analyses, it undergoes several key steps in the dry mill. Most of these pro- cesses use specialized and expensive pro- duction lines in industrial facilities. According to engineer Nelson Moya, "To ensure good coffee anywhere in the world, a lot of controls and food safety re- The Riosierra dry mill in Santa Marta, Colombia, uses innovative processing techniques to create exceptional coffee valued for its unique aroma and flavors. Photo by Ligia Leite The Cadefihuila dry mill in Pitalito, Colombia, is one of the country's biggest producer cooperatives. Photo by Ligia Leite

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