Colombian Coffee Bean History and Origin - Introduction to Colombian Pour-Over Specialty Coffee Flavor Characteristics

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As the world's third-largest coffee producer, Colombia is also the largest producer of washed Arabica coffee. Currently, up to 40% of all exported coffee beans are of specialty grade. It's not difficult to find Colombian coffee in many cafes. For example, at FrontStreet Coffee, you can find multiple varieties such as Rose Valley, Flower Moon Night, Big Navel, Sidra, and Huila, all available as pour-over preparations.

Today, FrontStreet Coffee will start with Colombia's coffee cultivation story and take you on a virtual tour of this major specialty coffee-producing country.

Colombian Coffee History

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, coffee first appeared in Colombia dates back to the nineteenth century. Don Mariano Ospina Rodriguez was one of Colombia's coffee pioneers who first invested in coffee cultivation experiments.

In 1835, Don Mariano established a coffee experimental plantation in Fredonia, Antioquia province. With extensive knowledge and experience in coffee cultivation, Don Mariano began to promote and teach coffee cultivation to Colombian farmers.

In 1857, Don Mariano was elected President of Colombia.

In 1879, the Colombian government passed the Coffee Act to promote coffee cultivation.

In 1880, Don Mariano published the first textbook on coffee cultivation techniques titled "Coffee Cultivation: Basic Concepts That All Farmers Can Master." Shortly thereafter, the price of Colombian coffee in the New York market rose from 10.6 cents per pound in 1887 to 18.8 cents per pound in 1893.

During the 1920s-1930s, the Colombian government implemented land reform and provided support to small producers. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the success of Colombia's coffee industry is inseparable from the marketing efforts of the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC).

In 1927, the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC) was established in Medellín. It is a union that brings together 560,000 coffee-producing families from 22 provinces and 590 cities across the country. The first FNC president was Luis Mariano Ospina Pérez, grandson of President Ospina. Under Ospina's leadership, the FNC successfully consolidated the country's coffee industry and achieved tremendous success in the global market. This initiative also helped coffee develop into Colombia's main export crop, forever changing the country's economy.

Colombian Coffee Growing Regions

Colombia is located in the northern part of South America. From the map, we can see that Colombian coffee-growing areas are distributed along the Andes Mountains, from south to north, with growing regions mainly concentrated in the western part of the country. Due to the wide distribution of growing areas, different geographical factors and climate characteristics create different coffee production seasons, meaning Colombia can have coffee harvests year-round.

Colombia has high growing altitudes, ranging between 1,000-2,500 meters. Here, influenced by the diverse terrain of the Andes Mountains, there are rich microclimates, abundant rainfall, and temperatures around 18°C year-round, making it very suitable for coffee tree growth. This is the primary reason for the superior quality of Colombian coffee. Here, 30%-40% of the rural population depends on coffee production. Local agriculture is managed through small farm models, and coffee cultivation is no exception. The farms are not large, generally only about two hectares. Farm owners carefully tend to the plants in their gardens. Local people plant tall trees or banana trees around coffee trees to provide shade.

By geographical location, Colombian coffee-growing areas can be divided into three regions: northern, central, and southern. According to coffee bean quality, they are mainly distributed in the southern region. Below, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss several representative growing regions: Huila, Cauca, Nariño, and Santander.

Colombian Specialty Coffee Estate Representative - Sidra

At the 2022 World Barista Championship, champion barista Anthony Douglas chose Colombian Sidra coffee beans for the competition. Coincidentally, at the 2019 World Barista Championship, that year's champion barista Jooyeon Jeon also chose Sidra coffee (though from Ecuador). This also made people start paying attention to what Sidra coffee is.

FrontStreet Coffee, through reviewing materials, found that Sidra coffee originally comes from Pichincha province, Ecuador, where locals call the variety Sydra. According to information, Sidra is a laboratory variety, cultivated from a hybrid of Typica and Red Bourbon. Later, based on genetic comparison, it was found that Sidra coffee has similar genes to Ethiopian native varieties. Therefore, some scholars speculate that Sidra is a hybrid between an experimental research variety exported from Ethiopia and local Ecuadorian Bourbon coffee varieties. Currently, the Sidra variety is mainly grown in producing countries like Ecuador and Colombia.

Following the exposure from Anthony Douglas's competition, people began searching for the champion barista's coffee beans. The Sidra coffee beans used by Anthony came from Finca El Diviso in Colombia's Huila growing region.

Where is Finca El Diviso?

Finca El Diviso is located in Huila, one of Colombia's most famous coffee growing regions; at an altitude of about 2,100 meters, covering an area of 14 hectares. This is a family-run coffee estate founded by Jose Uribe Lasso in 1996, with over 25 years of coffee cultivation experience.

Currently, it is mainly operated by Nestor Lasso, who is young and full of motivation. His grandfather introduced him to the magnificent world of coffee, and his father inherited this farm with superior abilities in coffee cultivation. Influenced by this family, Nestor continuously strives for excellence in coffee cultivation and processing, growing twelve varieties including Caturra, Colombia, Sidra, Castillo, Geisha, and Bourbon.

Nestor's family manages the estate together, continuously improving coffee bean quality, which has also brought better returns to Nestor. They successfully established a new large farm, cultivating and producing higher quality coffee beans, continuously striving to become a great family estate. For Nestor, Finca El Diviso is a lucky new beginning. He believes that Huila's land is very fertile, and any hardworking person can escape poverty by growing coffee crops on nutrient-rich soil.

What are the characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee's Sidra?

Although genetic testing has shown that Sidra has genetic connections to Ethiopian coffee varieties, it is currently mainly grown in two countries: Colombia and Ecuador, distributed at altitudes between 1,650-1,800 meters. In addition, some origins have small-scale cultivation of small quantities of Sidra varieties for experimental purposes.

Sidra plants have thick trunks, reaching up to 4 meters at maximum. They require appropriate shade when planted, are immune to multiple pests, but are susceptible to leaf rust and coffee berry disease. The leaves are slender and have five-petal flowers. The fruit distribution is dense, resulting in high yields. The fruit is larger and rounder than most Arabica varieties; green beans呈现 a slender strip shape, somewhat similar to Geisha.

Given that Sidra is currently still relatively scarce in cultivation and possesses floral and fruity characteristics comparable to Geisha, expressing flavors such as peach, citrus, grape, and honey, with moderate acidity and a rounded mouthfeel, its price is also relatively high.

FrontStreet Coffee has also imported Sidra coffee beans from Finca El Diviso. These coffee beans use double anaerobic washed processing, highlighting the coffee's rich acidity. FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-light roasting, and cupping notes reveal rich fruit flavors such as apricot, citrus, and grape.

FrontStreet Coffee Sidra Pour-over Parameters

Dose: 15g

Ratio: 1:15

Water Temperature: 91°C

Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (80% pass-through through #20 sieve)

Pouring Method: Three-stage pour

First stage: Pour 30ml and bloom for 30 seconds. Second stage: Use small water flow in circular motion to pour 120ml. When the water level drops to 1/2, third stage: Use small water flow in circular motion to pour 90ml. Total extraction time is 2 minutes.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

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