What Does Colombian Santa Rita Taste Like & How to Brew Colombian Coffee

About Catuai Coffee

Catuai is a coffee variety that is an artificial hybrid of Caturra and Mundo Novo. Catuai has relatively good resistance to natural disasters, particularly strong resistance to wind and rain.

Catuai trees are relatively low-growing. Compared to other coffee trees, Catuai's fruits grow more firmly and are not easy to pick. The fruits come in both red and yellow varieties. To date, no superior taste has been found in yellow fruits compared to red fruits. In fact, some have found in cupping tests that although coffee processed from some yellow fruits has good acidity, the cleanliness of its flavor is inferior to that of red fruits.

Catuai was cultivated in Brazil and is now commonly grown throughout Central America.

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Flavor: Aromatic and mellow
Coffee Bean State: Roasted coffee beans
Contains Sugar: Sugar-free
Origin: Colombia
Coffee Type: Colombian coffee
Roast Level: Medium roast

Colombia Santa Rita Special Reserve

Country: Colombia
Region: Antioquia Department
Altitude: 1600-2100 meters
Processing Method: Washed

Hacienda Santa Rita is located in the Antioquia Department of Colombia, in a micro-producing region adjacent to the Andes Mountains. This premium coffee is produced through the collaboration of 9 nearby farms. These 9 farms still use traditional methods: hand-picking the cherries, then processing the fruit with the traditional washed method, with the processed beans spread on racks to dry in the sun. The environment surrounding the Andes provides this coffee-growing region with fertile volcanic soil and uniquely advantageous water resources.

Varieties: Catuai, Caturra
Estate: Santa Rita

The History of Colombian Coffee

The history of coffee cultivation in Colombia can be traced back to the Spanish colonial era in the 16th century. There are several theories about coffee's history in Colombia:

First: it is said to have been introduced by sea from the Caribbean island of Haiti, via El Salvador in Central America.

Second: in 1808, a priest introduced coffee beans to Colombia for the first time from the French Antilles via Venezuela. One version suggests that Colombia's first batch of coffee seeds entered through Santander Province from Venezuela.

Third: the earliest record of coffee cultivation in Colombia appears in Spanish missionary Jose Gumilla's book "The Illustrated Orinoca." He described his experiences during missionary work 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.

Brewing Recommendations

For pour-over Colombian Santa Rita: use 15g of coffee grounds, medium grind (Fuji mountain-tooth blade grinder #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water and bloom for 27 seconds. Continue pouring to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue slow pouring until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15. Extraction time 2:00.

Flavor Profile

Flavor: Sugarcane, clean, medium body

Colombia: Land of Coffee

Colombia, in northwestern South America, is a beautiful country with a long history. From ancient times, indigenous people have lived and thrived on this land. It became a Spanish colony in 1531 and gained independence in 1819. It was renamed to its current name in 1886 to honor Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of the American continent. Colombia boasts 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 particularly celebrated as the "four treasures." Today, the country is the second-largest coffee producer after Brazil, the world's largest exporter of Arabica coffee beans, and the world's largest exporter of washed coffee beans. Colombian coffee is often described as having a silky smooth texture. Among all coffees it has the best balance, with a soft, smooth flavor that can be enjoyed anytime. It has received praise unattainable by other coffees: it is known as "green gold."

About 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. Due to inheriting Bourbon's bloodline, it has relatively weak disease resistance but higher yields than Bourbon. Although discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not suitable for growing there and was not cultivated on a large scale. Instead, it became widely popular in Central and South America, with large-scale cultivation in countries such as Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.

Compared to these botanical characteristics, people may be more concerned about Caturra's flavor. The higher the altitude at which Caturra is grown, the better the quality, though the yield is correspondingly lower. When lightly roasted, Caturra shows distinct acidic aromas and overall brightness. With proper processing, sweetness can be expressed very well, but the body is relatively low compared to Bourbon, and the cleanliness of the flavor is somewhat lacking.

Typically, Caturra produces red berries, but in extremely rare regions there are yellow Caturra varieties, such as the very small quantities grown in Hawaii.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Colombia's clean, sugarcane-sweet profile is a favorite base for espresso blends, and FrontStreet Premium Espresso Blend makes good use of it. Built mainly on Brazil with Colombia alongside it, it brings out complex nutty notes along with a comfortable bittersweet edge and a sweet milk-chocolate body that stays exceptionally silky in a latte.

If you want a Brazilian single origin to enjoy on its own, FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a classic entry point. Medium roasted from the well-known Cerrado region, it shows creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut aromas with a rounded, low-acid cup and a light bitter edge.

And for a rarer, sweeter Brazilian bean, FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon comes from the smaller Mogiana area and is a rare yellow Bourbon with finer processing, adding a fresh sugarcane sweetness and a clean, lingering finish to Brazil's typical nut, cream, roasted peanut, and caramel-cookie notes.