BOGOTA, Colombia — The ever-faithful mule is still by his side, the poncho is neatly draped across his shoulder, the straw hat is still perched atop the serene, mustachioed visage.

But this is a new Juan Valdez — younger, more vigorous, more eco-conscious — a Colombian coffee grower for the hyper-caffeinated era of double lattes, triple shots and gourmet blends.

The venerable Juan Valdez, one of the most successful emblems of modern advertising, is getting a makeover. Whereas the old Juan would stroll into mom's kitchen and enjoy a cup of Folgers while gently plugging 100 percent cafe de Colombia, 21st-century Juan has his own line of beans that he's brewing up at trendy coffee houses.

"Juan Valdez is eternal," declared Gabriel Silva , who heads the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, the trade group that first trotted out the figure almost a half-century ago. "Our idea is to rejuvenate and reinforce the image of Juan Valdez, without losing his authenticity."

In the balance hangs Colombia's $1.5 billion coffee industry, which provides a livelihood for millions and imparts a measure of social stability in a nation long plagued by civil conflict.

Colombian coffee took a big hit starting in the late 1990s, when a global glut of the bean depressed prices worldwide. Advertising budgets were slashed. Juan Valdez seemed headed for pop culture relic status.

Today, the coffee crisis has ended and Colombian coffee is selling for more than double its price four years ago. But production is down from the early 1990s, leaving Colombia third in the world, behind Brazil and Vietnam — the latter a relatively recent coffee behemoth. Colombia is now emphasizing niche marketing and quality over quantity.

(Prices are also up among Hawai'i coffee growers. The state, led by the Kona growing region, produced a record $37.3 million worth of coffee in the 2005-2006 growing season. Farm prices reached a record high average of $4.55 a pound, up 28 percent from an average $3.55 in the prior season. The harvest from 8,000 acres of coffee plants totaled 8.2 million pounds.)

Juan Valdez may again work his magic in part because his name recognition remains extraordinary. Two years ago, he made the Madison Avenue Walk of Fame after consumers voting in an industry forum named him their favorite icon, beating out Mr. Clean, the Jolly Green Giant and the California Raisins. And many Colombians profess fierce pride in the figure, although he's the creation of American ad men.

"Juan Valdez represents the high quality of Colombian coffee," said Jairo Garcia, 24, a picker harvesting beans in the green hills of Colombia's Quindio state. "He is a symbol of what we do."

Today, a slimmer, more youthful man is playing Valdez. His outsized signature adorns fashionable coffee shops in Colombia and as far away as Madrid, Spain, New York and yes, Seattle. Mimicking Starbucks, the coffee houses hawk Juan Valdez T-shirts, cups, to-go flasks, caps and more.

And Juan Valdez is no longer just a reassuring face on other retailers' coffee. The icon now boasts his own line of premium and organic blends.

"For years, Starbucks was eating the Colombian producers' lunch," said Bruce Bagley , a University of Miami professor writing a book on Colombian coffee. "Value is added when you sell coffee in a pretty package. There's no value added just by growing the stuff and selling it in bulk bags."

All Juan Valdez products come under the umbrella of the coffee growers' federation, a nonprofit trade group that says the earnings go into improvements for its 500,000-plus members, mostly small farmers. The current Juan Valdez is himself from the ranks of Colombian growers.

The Juan Valdez saga began with world coffee prices plunging in the late 1950s, and coffee in the U.S. market mostly a 5-cent cuppa joe with no cachet.

Growers approached famed New York ad company Doyle Dane Bernbach, which also created trailblazing little-guy ads for the Volkswagen Beetle ("Think Small") and Avis ("We Try Harder"). Juan Valdez was born.

The first Juan, who debuted on black-and-white screens in 1960, was Jose Duval, a Cuban-American actor living in New York. He was an immediate hit. Colombian coffee farmer Carlos Sanchez assumed the role in 1969.

Later spots featured Juan Valdez and his mule, Conchita, turning up in grocery aisles, commuter trains and kitchen cupboards, hawking "100 percent Colombian coffee," a label adopted by retailers such as Folger's and Yuban. Airplanes and locomotives were shown reversing course after forgetting their hauls of Colombian coffee.

Subsequent ads, catering to a younger crowd, featured Juan Valdez surfing, snowboarding and hang-gliding. The slogan: "Take life by the beans."

But plummeting coffee prices in the late 1990s sent the industry reeling, and Colombian growers have been seeking new strategies ever since.