In many coffee-growing countries the harvest happens once a year, during a single well-defined season. Colombia is different. Because of its geography, many Colombian growing areas can produce coffee at more than one point in the year, and some region of the country is picking coffee during most months. Understanding why helps explain how Colombian coffee reaches roasters and drinkers at different times, and why freshness and lot labeling matter.
Why geography creates two harvests
Coffee trees flower after a dry period followed by rain. The flowers become green cherries, which ripen to red, yellow or other colors depending on the variety over the following months. The timing of the rains largely sets the timing of the harvest.
Colombia sits close to the equator, and much of its coffee land lies in the three branches of the Andes. In many of these areas the year has two rainy seasons and two drier periods rather than one of each. That pattern can trigger two flowerings a year, and therefore two harvests on the same farm.
The larger of the two is usually called the main crop (cosecha principal). The smaller one is known as the mitaca, a word used in Colombian coffee country for the secondary or "fly" crop. Which harvest is larger, and when each falls, depends on the region.
North, center and south
A useful simplification divides the country into three broad bands:
- Northern regions, such as the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and parts of Santander, tend to have a single, more defined harvest concentrated in the latter part of the year.
- Central regions, including much of the traditional coffee axis of Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío, as well as Antioquia and Tolima, commonly have two harvests, with the main crop and mitaca falling in different halves of the year.
- Southern regions, such as Huila, Cauca and Nariño, often have a main harvest that falls earlier in the year than in the north, with a smaller secondary harvest in some areas.
These are broad tendencies, not fixed rules. Altitude, slope orientation, local microclimate and the year's weather all shift the timing from farm to farm. Our guide to Colombian coffee regions describes the character of each area in more detail.
Altitude and ripening speed
Within any region, altitude changes the pace of ripening. Cooler temperatures at higher elevations slow the development of the cherry. Slower ripening is widely associated with denser beans and more complex acidity, and it also pushes the harvest later compared with lower farms nearby. On a steep mountainside, a farm near the top of a slope may still be picking after a farm at the bottom has finished.
Selective picking over many passes
Because cherries on the same tree ripen unevenly, Colombian coffee is traditionally hand-picked selectively. Pickers pass through the same plots several times during a harvest, choosing ripe cherries and leaving unripe ones for later. Steep terrain makes mechanical harvesting impractical in most areas, so this labor-intensive method remains common.
Selective picking matters for quality. Underripe cherries tend to bring astringent or grassy notes, and overripe cherries can contribute ferment-like flavors. Consistently ripe fruit is the starting point for a clean cup, whatever the processing method. You can read more about what happens after picking in our article on processing methods.
Is the mitaca different in the cup?
Coffee from the mitaca is the same plants, varieties and farms as the main crop, so there is no inherent reason for it to be lower quality. In practice, the smaller volume, different weather during ripening, and the logistics of a shorter harvest can lead to differences between lots. Some mitaca lots are excellent; others are less consistent. Tasting and lot information are more reliable guides than the harvest name alone.
What this means for freshness
Green coffee is an agricultural product that changes over time. After processing and drying, it is rested, milled and shipped. Over the following months, green coffee gradually loses some vibrancy, and older lots can develop flat or papery flavors. This is sometimes described as coffee "fading" or becoming "past crop."
Colombia's multiple harvests mean that fresh-crop Colombian coffee can be available at more points in the year than coffee from single-harvest origins. When a roaster lists a harvest period or season on a bag, it is a helpful clue about how recently the coffee was picked. Roast date is a separate and equally important piece of information for brewing at home.
Reading harvest information on a bag
- Harvest or crop year: indicates when the coffee was picked, sometimes noting main crop or mitaca.
- Region and altitude: together hint at whether the coffee came from an early or late harvest area.
- Roast date: tells you how fresh the roasted coffee is, independent of the harvest.
Key takeaways
- Two rainy seasons in much of Colombia can produce two flowerings and two harvests a year.
- The main crop is the larger harvest; the mitaca is the smaller secondary crop.
- Timing varies by region, altitude and the weather in a given year.
- Selective hand-picking across several passes is central to Colombian coffee quality.
- Harvest period and roast date are both useful when choosing a coffee.