After three decades of research, Colombia has unveiled “Umbral,” a heat-resistant coffee variety. At the annual Colombian Coffee Summit, held this week in Cartagena, the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC) revealed a plant that promises to adapt coffee cultivation to the changing climate and to territories that, until now, had remained outside the coffee industry.
With “Umbral,” what was once a technical, academic, and production challenge has now become a source of hope for thousands of farms across the country. In this regard, the FNC’s general manager, Germán Bahamón, explained that the process began with traditional genetic improvement. “Reaching the fifth generation (F5) is already a feat,” he said, “and in this case, Umbral is already in its sixth (F6),” a sign of its maturity.
With this announcement, Colombia understands that it is not enough to maintain tradition—it must transform the way it grows coffee if it wants to remain a global reference point and adapt to new lands that could now grow coffee, as well as to the worldwide threat of climate change.
Colombia launches ‘Umbral,’ a heat-resistant coffee variety
What sets Umbral apart is its ability to bear fruit at lower altitudes—starting at 850 meters above sea level—and withstand higher temperatures. Until now, most productive cultivation had been concentrated in higher areas with relatively moderate climates, which created geographic and expansion limits.
Traditionally, coffee has been grown between 1,400 and 1,900 meters above sea level. Umbral changes that equation by allowing warm, low-lying regions—once dismissed or abandoned—to again be considered viable for coffee.
In Bahamón’s words, “We will be able to lower the thermal floor and recover those productive zones.” That phrase sums up the ambition: to expand the agricultural frontier without sacrificing quality or sustainability. It marks a turning point.
Moreover, early trials have yielded promising results: resistance to heat, lower incidence of certain pests, and greater adaptability in provinces such as Nariño, Santander, and the traditional Coffee Axis.
The message behind Umbral’s launch is not only technical but also deeply strategic. Colombia produces around 14.8 million bags—according to FNC estimates—and aims to reach 20 million in the medium term. With the new cultivar, the goal is to expand the productive area, introduce new territories, and mitigate the effects of rising temperatures. This is crucial now that climate change is no longer a hypothesis but a palpable reality for Latin American agriculture.
But productive growth does not depend solely on the plant: Bahamón stressed that a state policy must accompany it, with rural infrastructure, technical services, and continuous support for farmers. In that sense, Umbral represents an opportunity for structural transformation within the coffee sector.
From an economic perspective, the figures support this vision: in the cycle that ended in October this year, the sector recorded estimated revenues of 25 trillion pesos (approximately US$6.578 billion) for producers; the international price per pound of coffee has hovered around US$4, creating a context of optimism for investment in quality and product development. However, Bahamón cautioned that this price increase does not guarantee automatic prosperity: global demand continues to grow, but so does competition, and quality must remain the defining feature.
#Importante ☕️l En el marco de la 89ª Cumbre Cafetera de Asoexport y Analdex, @GermanBahamon anunció que la Federación Nacional de Cafeteros ampliará la frontera agrícola del café con una nueva variedad desarrollada para zonas de menor altura.
Tras 30 años de investigación, la… pic.twitter.com/d9bdxYdYez
— Federación Nacional de Cafeteros (@FedeCafeteros) November 8, 2025
A challenge for Colombia’s regional coffee sector
The introduction of Umbral opens the door for regions once forgotten by coffee to reconsider their productive potential. Areas that stopped planting due to rising heat now have a new option. At its core, this means more than just increasing the number of bags produced: it means rebuilding rural social fabric, diversifying local economies, and reducing vulnerabilities.
However, the FNC warns that ensuring the success of this process requires more than just the plant itself: achieving production goals will depend on whether harvesters receive technical support, on integrating new varieties into the market without losing designation of origin, on marketing systems that guarantee income, and on maintaining quality. In this regard, Bahamón emphasized that “the goal of everything is aligned with not sacrificing quality.”
Another challenge to consider is the future commercial release date: Umbral is currently in testing on nine farms in various regions. It is expected to become available to producers around 2027. This reality provides time to prepare the sector, but it also demands that the drive for change materialize within this maximum two-year period.
At this week’s annual coffee congress, the announcement was applauded as an opportunity to advance the country’s goal of increasing production after two record years pointing in that direction. Nevertheless, producers—aiming to compete with Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer—committed to maintaining quality as they pursue that goal.
Colombia is determined that, in less than two years, every cup of coffee will contain not only flavor but also the story of three decades of Colombian science, of farms that have overcome heat, of farmers who strive to preserve a tradition, and of a country betting on its future by investing in a national symbol and a globally recognized mark of identity.
Related: Talks to Remove US Tariffs on Colombian Coffee Exports Remain Stalled.