The dramatic, lush and beautiful green hills of the Huila region in the south west of Colombia are home to some truly amazing coffees. Sitting between the Central and Eastern cordilleras, the region’s elevation, cool nights and rich volcanic soils produce consistently high cup quality. Farmers in this region tend to work small plots, often on steep slopes, managing their own processing. This regional diversity adds uniqueness even between farms in the same valley, and makes Huila one of Colombia’s most respected origins for traceable micro-lots. 

José Herman Salazar arrived in Huila in 2001, from nearby Nariño, and after working on coffee farms as a labourer eventually saved up enough to buy his own plot, planting it with Bourbon and Caturra. Years later, he noticed one tree growing with different leaf shape, more vigour, and when he tasted it there was a warming, spicy, peppery aftertaste. He started to separate it and called it Bourbon Ají, thinking it was a mutation of Bourbon. Then, in 2021, José’s Ají placed sixth in Colombia’s Cup of Excellence. Genetic testing revealed it wasn’t Bourbon at all, but an ultra- rare Ethiopian Landrace. No-one knows how the plants got to his farm but recognition came quickly and José’s Bourbon Aji still has a cult following around the world.