Typica was the only variety grown in Colombia in significant amounts until the 1960s. In Colombia, Typica is also called Criollo, Pajarito, Nacional, or Arábigo.
Bourbon produces higher yields but smaller seeds than Typica. Bourbon selections found in Colombia include Amarillo Chinchiná and Bourbon RM.
Pink Bourbon, a uniquely Colombian variety, is prized for its fruity and floral notes. Genetic testing shows that it is unrelated to Bourbon and more similar to Ethiopian landraces.
Colombian producers often cultivate other traditional varieties such as Maragogipe, Caturra, San Bernardo (the Colombian name for Pache), and Geisha.
Cenicafé started developing rust-resistant varieties in the 1960s and released their first rust-resistant hybrid, Colombia, in 1980.
Cenicafé adopted a strategy of developing multi-line resistance to leaf rust. Colombia is therefore not a single variety but a collection of related crosses.
Subsequent multi-line resistant hybrids include Tabi, which grows tall and requires less fertiliser than dwarf varieties; the highly productive Castillo; and Cenicafé 1, developed to be resistant to coffee berry disease as well as leaf rust.
High rainfall and steep terrain in Colombia limits the effectiveness of fungicides against leaf rust, making cultivation of hybrids a vital method of controlling the disease.
In the last decade or so the number of varieties grown in Colombia has rapidly increased, as growers have replanted old varieties and identified new ones growing in their fields.
Old varieties found in Colombia include Wush Wush, Rume Sudan, Moka, and Java, while new ones discovered in the country include Chiroso, Papayo, Striped Bourbon, and Caturron.
The parentage of varieties discovered in the field is rarely known. Genetic testing revealed that some of the varieties discovered in Colombia, including Chiroso and Papayo,