Sativa Coffee, a Pereira-based company dedicated to the production, processing, and commercialization of 100% Colombian coffee and medicinal cannabis, was founded some years ago by spouses Katherine Bedoya and Nicolás Ruiz. Both are members of the fourth generation of coffee growers, with Katherine being a microbiologist and Nicolás an avid lover of the countryside, as well as an expert researcher in both crops. Working closely with them is Luis Adolfo Giraldo, a master roaster from Chinchiná with over forty years of experience, highly recognized in the coffee growers’ guild. All the efforts this family group has put into this venture have just been rewarded with the granting of a license by INVIMA to manufacture and commercialize a product that combines the characteristics of Colombian coffee flavor and aroma with the medicinal properties of cannabis. It’s worth mentioning that this is the first license of this nature approved by this department tasked with implementing the policies formulated by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection regarding health surveillance and quality control of medicines, biological products, food, beverages, cosmetics, among others. The founders of Sativa Coffee have a long history in coffee. Nicolás’s great-grandfather, grandfather, and father owned a farm called Santa Elena in the El Congolo district of Pereira for many years, which they sold some years ago, and is currently occupied by a residential complex. Since then, Katherine and Nicolás have dedicated themselves not only to cultivating medicinal cannabis but also to studying and researching its properties extensively.


They currently have a hectare planted with cannabis in the municipality of Ulloa, in the northern Valle del Cauca region, just five minutes from the Arabia district, as well as a coffee plantation in Palestina (Caldas) at an altitude of 1650 meters above sea level and a roaster in Chinchiná in the same department. Sativa Coffee The company Sativa Coffee was officially registered in 2021, although the process of planting cannabis began four years earlier, always with the aim of creating an innovative product that would impact both the national and international markets. “At the time we started in this industry, there was a lot of ignorance, and practically all the knowledge came from illegality. Little was known about real aspects of the plant, technified crops, or how to achieve better efficiency and crop yields. That’s why we started studying and then standardizing processes. Now we have our own cannabis crops and genetically improved and regionally adapted genetics, as well as a license to plant two more hectares,” notes Nicolás Ruiz. In the course of these studies, they found that the business was not only about producing raw material, such as the flower from which an extract can be obtained to develop different products or distillates, but that the key point of the business was in marketing. “We thought of a product that was indigenous, very much from our land and our culture, that represented us completely and, apart from that, had constant repurchase and easy accessibility to the consumer. Coffee, a very typical product of our land, is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water, and so far this fusion with cannabis had not been done, which means very beneficial effects for health,” say the founders of Sativa Coffee.


The benefits Cannabis has a high content of CBD, a cannabinoid that does not produce psychoactivity unlike THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), and which helps to counteract in some way the side effects of caffeine such as insomnia, anxiety, and nervous system disturbance resulting in tremors, palpitations, because CBD is an anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, muscle relaxant, and analgesic. Together with roaster Luis Adolfo Giraldo, the process was formulated to infuse cannabis into the coffee bean and make it a beverage that retains all its properties, that is, the full spectrum of flavonoids, terpenes, and cannabinoids. Katherine and Nicolás point out that terpenes are responsible for the smell and taste, and trichomes are the ones that contain the oil or cannabinoids that produce the metabolic effect in the body. Based on Katherine’s research, who is a microbiologist specialized in medicinal cannabis, and with the support of food engineers, a standardized formulation of the product was achieved. “The main properties of our coffee are: it helps to optimize the mental alertness generated by caffeine, which can be optimized for a longer time with CBD, which allows counteracting the side effects of caffeine, so more coffee can be consumed to take advantage of the mental alertness and energy it produces, without the side effects it can cause,” says Nicolás. The company produces two versions of coffee: a regular product that enhances mental alertness and another decaffeinated one that relaxes, brings tranquility, and helps to fall asleep, in other words: a coffee for the day and another coffee for the night. Additionally, a high-quality coffee is being used, Castillo variety, an export-type excelso coffee that goes through a selection process in mesh, from which only ripe beans are collected to give the consumer a quality product. INVIMA License The procedures to obtain the INVIMA license began last year, which were somewhat delayed due to the gaps in legislation and regulations regarding this type of cultivation and products in the country. “Less than a week ago, we obtained the INVIMA registration, we are the first Colombian coffee company with cannabis derivatives licensed or with sanitary registration for commercialization, which opens a huge door for us to reach commercial surfaces or chain stores,” said Nicolás.


In addition to this, an important negotiation was closed with a European company since last year to commercialize the product, whose initial operations are pending to obtain registration as required in the European markets, where it is considered a new food, requiring scientific research to demonstrate the food safety of the product. And, undoubtedly, the INVIMA license allows progress in that direction.