Medellin Coffee Harvest Season, Month by Month
The month you come decides one thing on a coffee farm: whether the basket you are handed fills. Everything else — the processing, the drying beds, the roasting, the cupping — runs every day of the year. This page says what each month gives you, so a coffee farm tour Medellin lands in the week you wanted.
What the seasons actually do to a farm visit
Two things move through the year here and they do not line up with each other. Antioquia harvests twice, and Medellin rains twice, and the overlap is what people find confusing.
- The main harvest runs September to December, peaking through November. Baskets fill, de-pulpers run daily and the drying beds turn over constantly.
- The mitaca — the smaller second crop, six months out from the main one, and the word every farm here uses for it — runs March or April to June, and gives a lighter but real picking.
- The rain comes in two seasons, April to May and September to November, with October the wettest month and December to February the driest.
- The temperature barely moves: around 22°C by day, all year, because the valley sits at 1,495 metres.
The practical consequence is smaller than it sounds. Rain here almost always arrives between about 3pm and 6pm, and these farm days all start between 8am and 9:30am. You are back in the city before the sky opens.
Medellin coffee month by month
January
One of the three driest months of the year in the Aburrá valley. The main harvest is finishing, so the drying beds are full and the mills are busy even where the picking has stopped. Trails are firm underfoot. Book a week ahead: this is high season for visitors and the small-group products fill first.
February
Dry, bright and the easiest month to walk a plantation in. There is little left to pick on most farms, so expect the picking to be a demonstration on a few late trees rather than a full basket. Everything else — processing, drying, roasting, cupping — runs exactly as it does in harvest.
March
The first rains arrive towards the end of the month and the mitaca begins on the warmer, lower farms. Mornings stay clear. This is the start of the window where you can pick ripe cherries without being in peak season, which makes it one of the better months to come.
April
The first rainy season proper. Expect a sharp shower most afternoons, usually after 3pm, and firm ground in the mornings. The mitaca is running on most farms around Medellin. Tours leave at 8 or 9am and are back before the rain, which is why almost nothing gets cancelled here.
May
The wettest month of the first rainy season. Drying beds go under plastic and the farms talk about it, which makes this a good month to understand why drying is the step everybody worries about. Take a waterproof and shoes you do not mind cleaning.
June
The rain eases through the month and the mitaca finishes. Green cherries are setting for the main crop, which is the clearest month to see a branch carrying flowers, green fruit and the last red cherries at the same time. Trails dry out quickly.
July
Dry, breezy and busy with visitors. Little is ripe, so the picking is a demonstration, but the light is the best of the year for the valley viewpoints. The Arví cable and the Comuna 8 tram both run their full timetable.
August
The Feria de las Flores fills the city for about ten days in the first half of the month, which is worth planning around either way — the silleteros come down from Santa Elena, and the farms up there are busy with it. Book any coffee day well ahead in this month. Weather stays dry.
September
The second rainy season starts and so does the main harvest on the higher farms. From here to December is the window where a basket actually fills. Afternoons are wet; mornings are not, and these are all morning departures.
October
The wettest month of the year, and the middle of the main harvest. The rows are heavy with red cherries and the ground is heavy underfoot. Wear boots or old trainers and take a light waterproof; the reward is the fullest version of the day these farms run.
November
The peak of the main harvest and the last of the heavy rain. Pickers are working every day, the de-pulpers are running, and the drying beds turn over constantly. If you want to see a farm at full tilt, this is the month.
December
The rain stops, the harvest finishes and the city fills with alumbrados along the Medellin river. Farms are still processing what came in through November, so the post-harvest steps are all live. Book early: this and January are the busiest weeks of the year.
The two harvests, and which one you want
| Cosecha principal | Mitaca | |
|---|---|---|
| When | September to December | March or April to June |
| Peak | November | May |
| Volume | The larger crop by a wide margin | The lighter second pass |
| What you pick | Full rows of ripe cherries | Scattered ripe cherries, real picking |
| Weather | The second rainy season overlaps it | The first rainy season overlaps it |
| Crowds | December and January are the busiest weeks | Quieter across the board |
If picking matters to you, aim for October or November, or for May. If walking a dry plantation and following the process matters more, come in January, February or July.
Best time of day to be on a farm
Early. Pickers work from first light and the drying beds are turned in the morning, so an 8am or 9am departure puts you on the farm while it is working rather than resting. It also gets you off the slope before the middle of the day and back to the city before the afternoon shower. These departures are built around that, which is why almost none of them run in the afternoon.
What the season does not change
Almost everything. The de-pulper, the fermentation tank, the drying beds, the threshing machine, the roaster and the cupping table are on the farm in February exactly as they are in November, and the guide walks you through all of them either way. Outside a harvest the picking becomes a demonstration on a few late trees rather than a full basket, and that is the whole of the difference. Two farms plant a coffee tree with your name on it instead, which works in any month.
Frequently asked about timing
When is the coffee harvest in Antioquia?
There are two. The main harvest runs September to December and peaks through November; the mitaca, the smaller second crop, runs from about March or April to June. Outside those windows the farms still run the full tour, but the picking becomes a demonstration on a few late trees.
Can I pick coffee myself?
Yes, on every farm day here. You are given a basket on a belt, shown what a ripe cherry looks like against a green one, and put on a row. Whether the basket fills depends on the month rather than on you.
What is a mitaca?
The smaller of Colombia's two annual harvests, six months out from the main one. In Antioquia it runs roughly March or April to June, and it is why a farm can hand you a basket in May as well as in November. Farms use the word constantly and rarely explain it.
What happens if it rains?
The tours run. These farms all work outdoors in a region with two rainy seasons, so wet-weather days are normal rather than exceptional, and the drying beds simply go under cover. Departures are in the morning and the rain here usually arrives after 3pm, by which time most of these days are finished.
The what-to-expect page covers what the ground is like in each season, and the farms page says which fincas sit high enough to harvest later. Medellin Coffee Tours compares every farm day in one table.