Introduction to the Origin, Development, History, and Culture of Washed Specialty Coffee Beans from Cauca Department, Colombia

Origin Introduction

Cauca Department, named after the Cauca River, lies in southwestern Colombia. Together with Nariño Department and Huila Department, it forms one of Colombia's important premium coffee-producing regions.

Cauca is a certified Colombian coffee origin region with an average altitude of 1,758 meters, rising to a maximum of 2,100 meters. The region's topography, precipitation, temperature, and volcanic soil combine into ideal conditions for coffee cultivation.

The main flavor characteristics of Cauca coffee show up in its wonderful acidity and elegant sweetness, wrapped in Colombia's typical mild mouthfeel — a combination that makes the region's coffee highly sought after by buyers. Premium Cauca coffee typically displays rich floral aromas, high acidity, pleasant sweetness, medium body, and a clean, mild, balanced flavor.

Product Information

Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans
Origin: Colombia
Roast Degree: Medium roast

Coffee Details

Colombia Cauca Best Cup Regional Select Sua

Country: Colombia
Grade: Cup of Excellence
Region: Cauca Department
Roast Level: Medium roast
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: Caturra
Batch: Special select micro-lot
Flavor Notes: Nuts, dark chocolate, caramel

Regional Characteristics

The most striking climatic difference between Cauca and other producing regions is likely its relatively large temperature variation: the average daily temperature is 11°C, while the average daytime temperature is 18°C. That diurnal swing is a crucial factor in producing premium coffee — the lower nighttime temperatures and relatively higher altitude slow the coffee's growth rhythm, letting the seeds and beans absorb nutrients from the cherries more fully. It is also what gives Cauca coffee its lively acidity and its particularly renowned sweetness.

Faithful to Colombia's excellent tradition, Cauca coffee is hand-picked and washed-processed. And while many producing regions have been replacing ancient varieties with new ones in pursuit of disease resistance and yield, Cauca uniquely keeps predominantly Caturra, along with the ancient Typica and Bourbon varieties.

This batch comes from Colombia's Cup of Excellence special selection batch. Variety: Caturra, Processing: Fully washed, Sun-dried.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Colombian coffee wears many hats: it works in espresso blends and as a pour-over single origin, in bright fruit-acid styles, full-bodied styles, and aromatic styles alike — something for every taste.

Huila Department, in the southern reaches of Colombia's central cordillera, is the country's most famous specialty coffee region — a landscape of hills ringed by mountains, planted above 1,500 meters, where Colombia's most important rivers converge to bring abundant water and moisture. To get to know the origin, try FrontStreet Washed Huila: a medium-dark roast highlighting black chocolate and nut aromas with moderate crema and a full body, equally good as pour-over or French press, and ready for the moka pot or espresso machine for americanos and lattes.

Colombia has traditionally washed nearly all of its coffee, but innovative processing has taken hold in recent years. Anaerobic fermentation — sometimes called carbonic maceration — is a new taste experience: fermentation in a low- or no-oxygen environment, typically in a pressure-capable stainless steel tank where temperature, time, pH, and other variables can be controlled. Its most famous forms are anaerobic natural and anaerobic washed. FrontStreet Sidra from the Boundary Line Estate uses the anaerobic natural method; after the oxygen-free fermentation, the coffee transforms into more tropical fruit aromas, and a medium-light roast — brewed as pour-over, cold brew, drip bag, or moka pot — yields complex aromas of passion fruit, grape, apricot, and dried fruit.

If you brew with a home espresso machine or a moka pot, baristas strongly recommend the FrontStreet Boutique Blend — an espresso blend formulated for café use that combines the creamy nuttiness of Brazilian coffee with the dark chocolate bitterness of Colombian. Pulling it reveals a fine, golden crema, and it pairs beautifully with milk for a latte that is rich and silky, forgiving for beginners, and equally solid as the base for americanos, cappuccinos, and mochas.