I travel to Colombia’s Huila region to answer a question that’s puzzled me for years: if specialty coffee pays more, is better for the environment, and brews tastier cups—why don’t more farmers grow it?   I speak with two producers in the same region whose choices couldn’t be more different. One stakes his future on specialty. The other opts out.   Their decisions come down to more than passion or a hard work ethic. Instead, I uncover two  starting conditions—often invisible to us buyers—that strongly shape whether a farmer chooses specialty at all.   If we want to see more speciality coffee grown, we need to bring down the barriers to specialty. But first we need to understand what those barriers really are.   The answers might surprise you. They surprised me.   Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee!Leave a 5 star rating on SpotifyFollow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram storyWrite a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter   Find your next favourite Colombian coffee from The Coffee Quest   Taste coffees from Erick Bravo’s award winning farm, Finca El Chaferote   Nerd out on my farm profitability estimations     Season 3 of The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organizations:   The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat