The History, Culture, and Stories of Colombia Santa Rita Estate's Premium Single-Origin Coffee Beans

History and Cultural Heritage of Colombia Santa Rita Estate Premium Single Origin Beans

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The primary coffee variety in Colombia is Arabica. The plant is a small tree or large shrub, 5-8 meters tall, typically with many branches at the base. Old branches are grayish-white with swollen nodes, while young branches are hairless and flattened. The leaves are thin and leathery, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, 6-14 cm long and 3.5-5 cm wide, with a long gradual apex 10-15 mm long, wedge-shaped or slightly obtuse base, rarely circular, entire or shallowly wavy margins, hairless on both surfaces, with or without small pits in the vein axils beneath. The midrib is prominent on both leaf surfaces, with 7-13 lateral veins on each side. The petiole is 8-15 mm long. Stipules are broadly triangular, with conical long tips or awn tips on upper young branches, and often pointed tips on old branches, 3-6 mm long. Several cymes cluster in leaf axils, each with 2-5 flowers, without peduncles or with very short peduncles. The flowers are fragrant with pedicels 0.5-1 mm long. The bracts are partially fused at the base, of two types: two broadly triangular with nearly equal length and width, and two lanceolate twice as long as wide, leaf-like. The calyx tube is cylindrical, 2.5-3 mm long, with truncate calyx limb or 5 small teeth. The corolla is white, 10-18 mm long depending on variety, usually 5-lobed at the apex, rarely 4 or 6-lobed, with lobes often longer than the corolla tube and usually obtuse at the apex. The anthers extend beyond the corolla tube, 6-8 mm long. The style is 12-14 mm long, with a 2-lobed stigma 3-4 mm long. The berry is broadly elliptical when ripe, red, 12-16 mm long and 10-12 mm in diameter, with hard membranous exocarp, fleshy mesocarp with sweet taste. The seed is convex on the dorsal side, flat on the ventral side with longitudinal grooves, 8-10 mm long and 5-7 mm in diameter. Flowering period is March-April.

Colombia Santa Rita (Washed, Medium-Dark Roast) — Sugarcane, Clean, Medium Body

Santa Rita Estate is located in Antioquia Province, Colombia, using traditional methods for coffee processing: hand-picking coffee cherries, then traditional washing of coffee fruits, with processed beans laid out on racks for sun-drying. The environment surrounding the Andes Mountains provides this coffee-growing region with fertile volcanic soil and unique water resources.

Coffee cultivation requires sunlight and appropriate shade, with the most suitable cultivation in fertile land or volcanic ash soil. Therefore, coffee is widely distributed in South America, Central America, the West Indies, Asia, Africa, Arabia, the South Pacific, and Oceania. Regions like Ethiopia and Tanzania in Africa; Brazil, Colombia, Jamaica, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, and Costa Rica in Central and South America; and Vietnam and Indonesia in Southeast Asia are all major coffee-producing regions. In South America, Brazil's production accounts for 30-50% of world total production, while Colombia accounts for 10-20%.

Colombia

Population: 47,073,000

Colombia has well-defined growing regions and produces an impressive variety of coffees. Whether you prefer rounded, heavy coffee flavors or refreshing, fruity ones (or anything in between), it's most likely a Colombian bean. Colombia is divided by geographical location, and it's not difficult to find that the region's coffees share many common characteristics. If you like coffee from one region, you'll likely like coffee from other regions as well. Coffee trees in Colombia have two harvests annually: the main harvest and a second harvest locally called "mitaca."

CAUCA

Cauca, among other things, is most famous for its coffee cultivation surrounding the Meseta de Popayán near Inza and Popayán city. The high-altitude plateau provides favorable growing conditions, close to the equator and surrounded by mountains that protect the coffee from Pacific humidity and southern trade winds. This creates a very stable climate year-round. Additionally, the region's coffee has significant volcanic soil. Historically, there is a single rainy season from October to December each year.

Altitude: 1,700-2,100m

Harvest: March-June (main crop), November-December (mitaca crop)

TOLIMA

Tolima was one of the strongholds of Colombia's notorious rebel organization FARC until recently. Tolima has suffered from fighting in recent years, making access difficult. High-quality coffee from this region comes from small farmers cultivating in very small micro-plots and exported through cooperatives.

Altitude: 1,200-1,900m

Harvest: March-June (main crop), October-December (mitaca crop)

Varieties: 9% Typica, 74% Caturra, 17% Castillo

NARINO

Some of Colombia's highest quality coffees grow in Nariño, considered the most stunning and flavor-complex. Growing coffee in many of these high-altitude areas is challenging, with coffee trees potentially susceptible to leaf rust disease. However, Nariño is close enough to the equator that the climate is suitable for coffee tree cultivation. Among Nariño's 40,000 producers, the vast majority are small farmers, each cultivating less than 2 hectares (4.4 acres). Many form groups and organizations to support each other and interact with the FNC. In fact, the average farm size is less than 1 hectare (2.2 acres), with only 37 producers in the region owning more than 5 hectares (11 acres) of land.

Altitude: 1,500-2,300m (4,900-7,500ft)

Harvest: April-June

Varieties: 54% Typica, 29% Caturra, 17% Castillo

HUILA

Huila has an excellent combination of soil and geographical advantages for coffee cultivation. Some of the most complex, fruit-forward Colombian coffees come from here. The region has over 70,000 coffee growers covering more than 16,000 hectares (39,500 acres).

Altitude: 1,250-2,000m

Harvest: September-December (main crop), April-May (mitaca crop)

Main varieties: 11% Typica, 75% Caturra, 14% Castillo

Due to a special combination of various factors—Colombia's coffee-growing regions' latitude, altitude, soil, plant species' botanical origins and coffee varieties, climate and rain patterns from the dual paths of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, terrain and light intensity that change within a day, favorable temperature ranges year-round, appropriate and distributed rainfall, and some common cultural practices including selective harvesting and processing methods including washing and drying—coffee grows exceptionally well here. The climate is mild, air is humid, and harvesting can occur year-round without seasonal limitations. This is why Colombian coffee quality is superior. Colombia has three Cordillera mountain ranges running north-south, extending into the Andes. Coffee is planted along the highlands of these mountain ranges. The mountain terraces provide diverse climates, making it harvest season year-round, with different types of coffee maturing at different times. Fortunately, unlike Brazil, Colombia doesn't need to worry about frost damage. Colombia has approximately 2.7 billion documented coffee trees, 66% of which are cultivated in modern plantations, with the rest grown on traditional small farms.

Currently, Asian Vietnam's coffee production has surpassed Colombia, and Indonesia has also developed into the world's fourth-largest coffee-producing country. In 1721, French naval officer Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu overcame numerous difficulties to bring the first coffee seedling from Africa to Martinique in Latin America, marking the origin of Latin American coffee cultivation. Because France was under Bourbon dynasty rule at the time, the Arabica coffee grown in Latin America acquired another name that remains renowned in the coffee industry today: "Bourbon." Today, Bourbon is an important branch of Arabica coffee. The overall flavor of Latin American coffee is characterized by balance—all coffee flavors can be found in Latin American coffees. The common use of wet processing for green beans is also one of the characteristics of Latin American coffee. Good processing makes their bean sizes larger and more uniform than African coffees, with lower defect rates. Colombia is one of the world's largest producers of quality coffee, a brilliant gem on the world coffee map, a coffee land favored by God. Arabica coffee is cultivated on steep slopes at altitudes of 800-1900 meters in the foothills, all hand-picked and washed.

Colombia's suitable climate provides a true "natural pasture" for coffee. Colombia's coffee trees are mainly cultivated in the Andes mountain region on steep slopes around 1,300 meters altitude, where the annual temperature is approximately 18°C, annual rainfall is 2000-3000 mm, latitude 1°-11°15' N, longitude 72°-78° W, with specific altitude ranges exceeding 2,000 meters.

Varieties: Catuai, Caturra

Estate: Santa Rita

History of Colombian Coffee Cultivation

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

First: It is said to have come from the Caribbean island of Haiti, reaching via waterway through 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 theory suggests that Colombia's first coffee seeds entered through Santander Province from Venezuela.

Third: The earliest record of Colombian coffee cultivation appears in Spanish missionary Jose Gumilla's book "The Illustrated Orinoca." He described his experiences while missionary along the Meta River in 1730, mentioning local coffee plantations. By 1787, other missionaries had spread coffee to other parts of Colombia.

Hand-Pour Colombia Santa Rita

15g powder, medium grind (small Fuji ghost tooth blade #4), V60 filter cup, 88-89°C water temperature. First pour 30g water, steam for 27 seconds, pour to 105g water then stop, wait until the powder bed water level drops to half before pouring again, slowly pour until 225g water, avoid tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Flavor: Sugarcane, clean, medium body

Colombia, located 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 features beautiful mountains and rivers, pleasant scenery, comfortable climate, spring-like seasons, and fresh air. Colombia is rich in natural resources, with coffee, flowers, gold, and emeralds known 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 soft, smooth flavors that can be enjoyed anytime. It has received praise unmatched by other coffees: known as "green gold."

Caturra Variety

Caturra is a natural variant 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 lineage, its disease resistance is relatively weak, but its yield is higher than Bourbon. Although discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not suitable for growth there, so it wasn't cultivated on a large scale in Brazil. Instead, it became widely popular in Central and South America, with large-scale cultivation in countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.

Compared to these botanical characteristics, people may be more concerned about Caturra's flavor. The higher the altitude where Caturra is grown, the better the quality, but correspondingly lower yield. When lightly roasted, Caturra has obvious acidic aromas and overall brightness. With proper processing, sweetness can perform very well, but the coffee body is relatively lower than Bourbon, and the cleanness of the taste is somewhat lacking.

Usually Caturra produces red berries, but in very rare regions, there are yellow Caturra varieties, such as Hawaii, where very few yellow Caturras are cultivated.

Catuai Variety

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

Catuai trees are relatively short, and compared to other coffee trees, Catuai fruits grow more compactly and are not easy to pick. The fruits come in both red and yellow varieties. To date, no superior flavor has been found in yellow fruits compared to red ones. In fact, some people have found in cupping that although some yellow fruit-processed coffees have good acidity, the cleanness of the coffee taste is worse than that of red fruits.

Catuai was developed in Brazil and is now widely cultivated in Central America as well.

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou City
Manufacturer Contact: 020-38364473
Ingredients: In-house roasted
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Taste: Aromatic coffee beans
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 Province
Altitude: 1600-2100 meters
Processing Method: Washed

Santa Rita Estate is located in Antioquia Province, Colombia, situated in a micro-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 for coffee processing: hand-picking coffee cherries, then traditional washing of coffee fruits, with processed beans laid out on racks for sun-drying. The environment surrounding the Andes Mountains provides this coffee-growing region with fertile volcanic soil and unique water resources.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473