A Tea Farm in Coffee Land Colombia

Coffee is king in Colombia, so why start a tea farm in coffee country? The mile high elevation, with its rapidly changing weather and naturally rich soil, made the Llanos family’s land ideal for tea. In 1946, the Llanos wanted to cultivate coffee. But one of the Llano sons pushed for growing tea. He had lived in England and developed a taste for tea. These are the historical roots from which Bitaco Tea grew.

Bitaco produces some of the best tea in the world in a sustainable manner while investing heavily in its community. To meet these goals, Bitaco supports several programs, including elementary and adult education, physical education and music, river restoration, recycling and bird restoration, to name a few. Their stewardship of the land is so great that the songbird population found at the farm is very high. Several universities use Bitaco’s bird population as a study site.

One thing is abundantly clear, this Colombian tea tastes good and stands up to its Eastern counterparts.  The black tea is reminisce of a bold Assam black tea with chocolate notes, while the green is complex and fresh. The black tea is so distinct that our staff can detect our Birdsong Black just by smelling the leaf! If Chile and Argentina could establish an independent wine culture from their European forbearers, then why not Colombian tea? We proudly sell and serve Colombian tea from Bitaco in South America!

Related content:

Learn about our partnership with Bitaco Tea.

Listen to an interview with Missoula’s local radio The Trail 103.3 and Bitaco Tea.

Sustainable Tea in Colombia  Watch MT KPAX news story on Bitaco’s visit to Lake Missoula Tea Company.

Learn about our nearly month-long trip to Colombia, South America in search of quality tea in a place ruled by coffee. Watch Missoula, MT’s KPAX news story!