Every time we open a bag of beautiful specialty coffee — like Erick Bravo’s from Finca El Chaferote in Huila, Colombia — we’re drinking something that’s been on a long journey.

And I mean long! Over 1500 kilometers north up and down the Andes mountain range, a distance more than twice the height of France.

Along the way, it passes through dozens of hands, machines, and decisions. We follow it through muddy mountain sides, dusty dry mills, and hurricane-battered coastal warehouses — places where all kinds of things can go wrong. A leaky roof. An overly aggressive polishing machine. Or even theft.

But here’s the mystery: getting Erick’s coffee to port costs 50% more than sending a commodity coffee through the same route.

Why?

That question led me deep into Colombia’s coffee supply chains — and what I found changed how I think about the real cost of treating coffee with care.

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Season 3 of The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organizations:

The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat