Colombia Santa Rita Pour Over Coffee Data and How to Drink Colombia Santa Rita

Pour-over Colombia Santa Rita: 15g of coffee grounds, medium grind (Fuji Roku ghost-tooth blade #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops halfway, then slowly pour until reaching 225g. Discard the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Colombia Santa Rita Special Reserve

Country: Colombia

Region: Antioquia Department

Altitude: 1600-2100 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Santa Rita Estate lies in Colombia's Antioquia Department, in a micro-production area beside the Andes Mountains. This premium coffee is produced through the collaboration of 9 nearby farms. These 9 farms still use traditional methods for processing: hand-picking the cherries, then traditional washed processing, with the processed beans laid out on racks to sun-dry. The environment around the Andes gives this growing region fertile volcanic soil and exceptional water resources.

Varieties: Catuai, Caturra

Estate: Santa Rita

The History of Colombian Coffee

Colombia's coffee history can be traced back to the Spanish colonial era in the 16th century. There are several accounts of how coffee arrived:

One theory holds that coffee was introduced by water routes from Haiti in the Caribbean, through El Salvador in Central America.

Another account says that in 1808 a priest first brought coffee beans to Colombia from the French Antilles via Venezuela. One version holds that Colombia's first coffee seeds entered through the Santander Department from Venezuela.

A third account: the earliest records of coffee cultivation in Colombia appear in the Spanish missionary Jose Gumilla's book "The Illustrated Orinoca." He described his experiences ministering along both banks of the Meta River in 1730, mentioning local coffee plantations. By 1787 other missionaries had spread coffee to other parts of Colombia.

Flavor: Sugarcane, clean, medium body

Colombia: The Land of Coffee

Located in northwestern South America, Colombia is a beautiful country with a rich history. Since ancient times, indigenous people have lived and thrived on this land. It became a Spanish colony in 1531 and gained independence in 1819. In 1886 it took its current name in honor of Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of the American continent. Colombia has beautiful mountains and rivers, pleasant scenery, a comfortable climate, spring-like weather year-round, and fresh air. It is rich in natural resources, with coffee, flowers, gold, and emeralds known as its "four treasures." Today the country is the second-largest coffee producer after Brazil, the world's largest exporter of Arabica beans, and the world's largest exporter of washed coffee. Colombian coffee is often described as having a silky-smooth texture. Among all coffees it has the best balance, with a soft, smooth mouthfeel that makes it enjoyable at any time. It has earned praise no other coffee has matched: it is known as "green gold."

Coffee Varieties

Caturra

Caturra is a natural variation of the Arabica Bourbon variety, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its plant is not as tall as Bourbon, being more compact. Because of its Bourbon heritage it has relatively weak disease resistance, but higher yields than Bourbon. Although discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not well suited to growing there and so was not cultivated on a large scale. Instead it became widely popular across Central and South America, with countries such as Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua growing it extensively.

Compared with these botanical traits, people are probably more concerned with Caturra's taste. The higher the altitude where it is grown, the better the quality, but the yield falls accordingly. Lightly roasted, Caturra shows prominent acidic aromas and overall brightness. With proper processing its sweetness can be outstanding, but its body is relatively low compared with Bourbon, and its flavor cleanliness is somewhat lacking.

Caturra usually produces red berries, but in very rare regions there are yellow Caturras, such as the very few grown in Hawaii.

Catuai

Catuai is a variety artificially hybridized from Caturra and Mundo Novo. It has good resistance to natural disasters, particularly wind and rain.

The Catuai plant is relatively short. Compared with other coffee trees, Catuai's fruit holds on more firmly and is harder to harvest. The fruit comes in both red and yellow types. To date, no superior taste has been found in the yellow fruit compared with the red. In fact, some cuppers have found that although coffee from some yellow fruit has good acidity, its flavor cleanliness is inferior to that from red fruit.

Catuai was developed in Brazil and is now also commonly grown in Central America.

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee

Ingredients: Home-roasted

Shelf Life: 90 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk

Taste: Aromatic coffee beans

Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Colombia

Coffee Type: Colombian coffee

Roast Degree: Medium roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Colombian coffee is remarkably versatile. It fits into espresso blends and stands on its own as a pour-over single origin, and it spans fruity-acid cups, full-bodied cups, and aroma-forward cups, so it suits a very wide range of drinkers.

Huila, in the southern Central Cordillera, is Colombia's best-known specialty region. It is a hilly land ringed by mountains, planted above 1500 meters, where the country's most important rivers meet and bring plentiful water and humidity. To get to know the origin, buy FrontStreet Coffee's washed Huila beans: medium-dark roasted, they push forward dark chocolate, the sweet savor of nuts, a moderate oiliness, and a full body. They are at home in a pour-over or French press and equally good in a moka pot or espresso machine, so an americano or a latte is no problem.

Colombian coffee has long been mostly washed, but in recent years innovative processing has taken hold. Anaerobic fermentation is a fresh taste experience with several names, sometimes called carbonic maceration; simply, it is fermentation in a low-oxygen or oxygen-free environment, usually in a pressure-resistant stainless-steel tank, where temperature, time, pH, and whatever data you need are controlled. Its best-known forms are anaerobic natural and anaerobic washed. FrontStreet Coffee's anaerobic natural Colombia goes through oxygen-free fermentation, which develops more tropical fruit aroma, and at a medium-light roast it gives complex, intense flavors of passionfruit, grape, apricot, and candied fruit, whether you make it pour-over, cold brew, a drip bag, or moka pot.

For anyone with a home espresso machine or a moka pot, baristas strongly recommend FrontStreet Coffee's house blend, an espresso built for running a coffee shop. It brings together the creamy, nutty aroma of Brazilian coffee and the deep dark-chocolate bittersweetness of Colombian coffee, and during extraction it shows a fine golden crema. It is excellent with milk for a rich, smooth latte and is very beginner-friendly, and it also serves as the base for everyday espresso drinks such as americano, cappuccino, and mocha.