Colombian Coffee Bean Origin Stories and Flavor Profile Characteristics - Hichatura Coffee Pour-Over Brewing Recommendations

"Colombian Coffee" is one of the few single-origin coffees sold under a country name in the world. In terms of quality, it has earned praise that other coffees cannot match. Compared to other producing countries, Colombia is more concerned with developing products and promoting production. This, combined with its superior geographical and climatic conditions, makes Colombian coffee high-quality, delicious, and renowned worldwide. FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean selection includes a Huila coffee bean from FrontStreet Coffee, which represents the most typical coffee flavor of Colombia.

Since 1990, Colombian coffee has become a core product of Starbucks and has gained widespread popularity. Starbucks' iconic totem represents Colombian culture. FrontStreet Coffee's original intention was not to sell beans, but to taste coffee beans from all over the world. In this process, FrontStreet Coffee's goal is to understand every coffee-producing region, different coffee varieties within the same region, different processing methods for the same coffee variety, and establish corresponding databases, as well as comparisons between different coffee-producing regions. FrontStreet Coffee hopes to let more coffee enthusiasts understand the world of coffee.

Colombian Coffee Culture

Colombian coffee culture is also very unique. Coffee is the pride of Colombians, and besides their once world-class football, coffee is what Colombians most love to talk about. Drinking coffee in Colombia is a pleasure—it's essential three times a day, and cafes are scattered throughout streets and alleys, filled with customers from morning to night. Colombian cafes serve no instant coffee; everything is brewed fresh and sold immediately. Waitresses serve it in exquisite porcelain bowls, respectfully presented to customers, who add sugar as they wish. The aroma fills the room, the bowl is sweet and delicious, and the aftertaste is endless. No wonder locals are addicted to it.

Colombian Coffee Renowned Worldwide

Located in northwestern South America, Colombia 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. In 1886, it was renamed to its current name to commemorate Columbus, the discoverer of the American continent. In 1808, a priest first introduced coffee to Colombia from the French Antilles via Venezuela.

Colombia has "four treasures": flowers, gold, emeralds, and coffee. This shows the important position of coffee in Colombia. Moreover, few coffees in the world are named after a country, like Nestlé coffee and Blue Mountain coffee, which are not named after countries. Colombia was the first to use its country name as a coffee brand.

Colombian coffee beans are famous worldwide for their quality, taste, and high grade. Coffee production in Colombia occupies an important part of the country's economic life, with annual exports of about $1.5 billion, accounting for a significant proportion of its foreign trade. Just as only wine produced in the Champagne region of France can be called champagne, only coffee produced in Colombia and hand-picked can be called "Colombian Coffee."

Today, Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee producer and exporter, the world's largest exporter of Arabica coffee beans, and the world's largest exporter of washed coffee beans.

Unique Geographic Environment Creates Colombian Coffee

Colombia is beautiful, with pleasant scenery, comfortable climate, spring-like weather year-round, fresh air that refreshes the soul. Colombia's mild climate and humid air create diverse climate conditions, making it harvest season year-round, with different types of coffee maturing at different times. They grow unique Arabica coffee beans, and coffee made from these beans has a rich taste and endless aftertaste, truly a coffee masterpiece. Today, many people equate "Colombian coffee" with "high quality" and "good taste."

World coffee is divided into two main series: one is the "soft" coffee represented by Brazil, with a strong taste; the other is the "hard" coffee represented by Colombian coffee beans, with a light and fragrant taste. The difference lies in the altitude and cultivation methods of the producing areas. Brazil plants coffee in hilly red soil more extensively, while Colombia produces coffee in mountain black soil with intensive cultivation.

Colombian coffee has over 200 grades, meaning the coffee has strong regional characteristics. The country's coffee production areas are located in the Andes Mountains, where the climate is mild and the air is humid. Colombia has three Cordillera mountain ranges running north-south, extending into the Andes. Coffee is planted along the highlands of these mountains. The mountain slopes provide diverse climate conditions, making it harvest season year-round, with different types of coffee maturing at different times. Fortunately, unlike Brazil, Colombia doesn't have to worry about frost damage. Colombia has about 700 million coffee trees, 66% of which are planted in modern plantations, while the rest are planted in traditional small farms.

The pure taste of FrontStreet Coffee's Colombian coffee is inseparable from the hard work of local growers, in addition to the natural environment with the most favorable conditions for coffee growth. In Colombia, coffee cultivation covers 1.07 million hectares, with about 302,000 coffee farms nationwide, and 30% to 40% of the rural population depends directly on coffee production. Although Colombia has many farms, none are large. Each farm is only about 2 hectares, and more than 80% of coffee plantations have only about 5,000 coffee trees, with an average of 3,000. This shows that Colombian agriculture is small-scale. Local people plant tall trees or banana trees around coffee trees. During the seedling stage, shade is provided for coffee trees to ensure the cool and humid environment needed for coffee growth. Due to the high humidity and small temperature difference in coffee forests, coffee beans mature slowly, which is beneficial for the accumulation of caffeine and aromatic substances, resulting in the best coffee quality.

Colombian Coffee Producing Regions

Colombia is most famous for the producing regions of Medellin, Armenia, and Manizales, collectively known as "MAM." Colombia's specialty bean producing regions are mainly in the south, with altitudes above 1,500 meters, including San Augustin in Huila Province, Popayan in Cauca Province, Nariño Province, and Tolima Province. Products from these areas have delicate acidic and berry aromas, with caramel notes and full sweetness.

From North to South, Colombia's Producing Regions Include:

Santander/North of Santander

Santander is a famous producing region in northern Colombia, bordering the Magdalena River to the west, with cultivation altitudes of about 1,400-1,600 meters. Coffee beans from this region are known for their strong flavor, long aftertaste, and unique fresh grass flavor.

Representative Coffee: FrontStreet Coffee · Colombian Big Tree Estate Rose Valley Coffee Beans
Processing Method: Anaerobic Enzyme Washed
Brewing Equipment: Hario V60
Grind Size: Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve 80% pass rate
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Water Temperature Recommendation: 90-91°C
Brewing Recommendation: Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, pour in small circles to 125g then segment, continue pouring to 225g when water level drops to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup when water level drops to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 2'00".
Flavor Description: Stunning peach characteristics, accompanied by rose and liqueur chocolate aromas, fragrant and rich, with peach juice flavors. Both the high-quality sweet and sour taste of black grapes and the silky smooth texture of cream toffee.

Antioquia

Antioquia Province is located in north-central Colombia, with 126,000 hectares of coffee cultivation, producing 18% of Colombia's coffee beans, second only to Huila Province. Most of this province is high mountain terrain belonging to the Andes, but it is influenced by the warm Caribbean sea breeze. The provincial capital Medellin is Colombia's second-largest city and also an important coffee-producing region.

Representative Coffee: FrontStreet Coffee · Colombian Antioquia Province Haciend la Elaira Estate Coffee Beans
Processing Method: Washed Processing
Brewing Equipment: Hario V60
Grind Size: Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve 80% pass rate
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Water Temperature Recommendation: 90-91°C
Brewing Recommendation: Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, pour in small circles to 125g then segment, continue pouring to 225g when water level drops to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup when water level drops to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 2'00".
Flavor Description: Light floral notes, white grape juice, honey sweetness, cream, fruit gummy candy, sweet citrus notes, smooth and thick sweet taste.

Tolima

Tolima is adjacent to Huila and Cauca, with the north-south Andes Mountains (M. Andes) and Cordillera Mountains (M. Cordillera) running through it, and the Magdalena River (R. Magdalena) running from south to north between the two famous mountain ranges.

Tolima's name comes from the earliest people who lived here, "Pijao people." In the language of this ancient group (Pijao word), Tolima means "snow-covered." Tolima farms are generally slightly larger than other farms in southern Colombia, about 10-15 hectares. Cooperative methods are also popular here, with farmers sending their small batches of fresh coffee cherries to cooperative processing plants. Some farmers also choose to process themselves, using their own small-scale facilities that can handle the day's harvest.

Representative Coffee: FrontStreet Coffee · Colombian Hope Estate Top Scholar Margarita Geisha Coffee Beans
Processing Method: Natural Processing
Brewing Equipment: Hario V60
Grind Size: Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve 80% pass rate
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Water Temperature Recommendation: 90-91°C
Brewing Recommendation: Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, pour in small circles to 125g then segment, continue pouring to 225g when water level drops to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup when water level drops to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 2'00".
Flavor Description: When hot, sugarcane and licorice sweetness are obvious, with some lemon acidity and oolong tea aftertaste, somewhat like lemon tea; when temperature drops, citrus flavors are obvious, honey and sugarcane aftertaste are persistent, giving a feeling of honey green tea.

Roasting Recommendation: Yangjia 800N roaster
Preheat to 180°C, open damper to 3, adjust heat to 150 after 30 seconds, damper unchanged, return temperature point 1'36", when roaster temperature reaches 140°C adjust heat to 130, open damper to 4; at this point bean surface turns yellow, grass smell completely disappears, enter dehydration stage, when roaster temperature reaches 166°C, adjust heat to 110°C, damper unchanged; at 7'50", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toast smell obviously turns to coffee aroma, can be defined as prelude to first crack, at this time listen carefully to first crack sound, at 8'20" first crack begins, adjust heat to 50°C, damper to 5 (adjust heat very carefully, not too small to lose crack sound), develop for 1'30" after first crack, drop at 190°C.

Huila

Huila Province is located in the southern part of the central mountain range in southern Colombia and is the country's most famous specialty coffee producing region. This area is surrounded by mountains and hills, with cultivation altitudes above 1,500 meters. The most important rivers in Colombia converge here, bringing abundant water resources and moisture.

Contrary to the general impression of balanced and smooth Colombian commercial coffee, many smallholder micro-batch Colombian specialty coffees actually have strong regional flavor characteristics. In recent years, with the international market's emphasis on coffee quality and demand for specialty coffee, the original grading system based on bean size has gradually been abandoned, replaced by micro-regional selections from coffee smallholders (Micro-regional selections), where dozens of smallholders provide their individual harvests combined into one micro-batch for sale, thus having more opportunities to select many high-quality specific smallholder coffees through batch-by-batch cupping.

Sidra coffee originally comes from Pichincha Province, Ecuador, where locals call this variety Sydra. According to data, Sidra is a laboratory variety, hybridized from Typica and Red Bourbon. Later, based on genetic comparison, it was found that Sidra coffee has similar genes to Ethiopian native varieties, so some scholars speculate that Sidra is a hybrid of experimental research varieties exported from Ethiopia and local Bourbon coffee varieties in Ecuador. Currently, Sidra varieties are mainly in producing countries like Ecuador and Colombia.

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

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

In the 2022 World Barista Championship, champion barista Anthony Douglas used Sidra coffee beans from Finca El Diviso in the competition, making Sidra coffee beans the focus of attention.

Representative Coffee: FrontStreet Coffee · Colombian Finca El Diviso Sidra Coffee Beans
Processing Method: Double Fermentation Natural Processing
Brewing Equipment: Hario V60
Grind Size: Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve 80% pass rate
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Water Temperature Recommendation: 90-91°C
Brewing Recommendation: Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, pour in small circles to 125g then segment, continue pouring to 225g when water level drops to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup when water level drops to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 2'00".
Flavor Description: Floral, tropical fruit, lychee, passion fruit flavors, with juice-like smooth texture.

Roasting Recommendation: Yangjia 800N roaster
Preheat to 180°C, open damper to 3, heat at 100; return temperature point 1'40", when roaster temperature reaches 140°C heat unchanged, open damper to 4; at this point bean surface turns yellow, grass smell completely disappears, enter dehydration stage, at 151°C heat drops to 80, at 166°C heat drops to 65, damper remains unchanged. At 8'35", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toast smell obviously turns to coffee aroma, can be defined as prelude to first crack, at this time listen carefully to first crack sound, at 9'58" first crack begins, adjust damper to 5 (adjust heat very carefully, not too small to lose crack sound), develop for 1'28" after first crack, drop at 193°C.

At 8'35", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toast smell obviously turns to coffee aroma, can be defined as prelude to first crack, at this time listen carefully to first crack sound, at 9'58" first crack begins, adjust damper to 5 (adjust heat very carefully, not too small to lose crack sound), develop for 1'28" after first crack, drop at 193°C.

There is also a Huila producing region coffee bean processed with special methods: FrontStreet Coffee · Colombian Flower Moon Night Coffee Beans
Brewing Equipment: Hario V60
Grind Size: Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve 80% pass rate
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Water Temperature Recommendation: 90-91°C
Brewing Recommendation: Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, pour in small circles to 125g then segment, continue pouring to 225g when water level drops to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup when water level drops to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 2'00".
Flavor Description: Balanced flavor, with floral strawberry notes and black cocoa aftertaste, cream and fermentation feel.

Roasting Recommendation: Yangjia 800N roaster
Preheat to 180°C, initial heat at 120, damper at 3, when reaching 140°C, keep heat unchanged, open damper to 4, at this stage beans gradually change from raw green color to yellow, original grass smell of raw beans slowly disappears, enter dehydration state, 6'25" is bean yellowing point, at this moment beans show toast-like sweet aroma, at 180°C reduce heat to 100, damper unchanged at 4, at 9'38", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toast smell obviously turns to coffee aroma, can be defined as prelude to first crack, at this time listen carefully to first crack sound, at 10'20" first crack begins, open damper to 4, develop for 1'50 after first crack, drop at 196°C, considering FrontStreet Coffee's Colombian Flower Moon Night is anaerobic natural processing, dehydration time should be extended to 9-9.5 minutes to ensure beans are fully roasted to avoid under-roasting. Develop for 1'50" after first crack, drop at 196°C.

Cauca

Cauca Province is a Colombian coffee origin certified producing region, with average altitude of 1,758m, highest altitude can reach 2,100m. The region's topography, precipitation, temperature, and volcanic soil provide suitable conditions for coffee growth. 80% is mountainous, with parallel mountain ranges in the east and center, part of the Andes, including two main volcanoes Sotara and Petacas in the central mountain range. Similar to other southwestern producing regions, precipitation shows obvious monomodal distribution, dry season mainly appears from August to September each year, followed by rainy season bringing concentrated coffee flowering season, and then concentrated coffee harvest season in the following year.

The biggest difference from other producing regions in climate is probably the relatively large temperature difference, with daily average temperature of 11°C and daytime average temperature of 18°C. The day-night temperature difference is an important factor in forming high-quality coffee. Low night temperatures and relatively higher altitudes slow down the growth rhythm of coffee, allowing coffee seeds and beans to more fully absorb nutrients from coffee cherries, also creating better acidity and particularly praised sweetness in Cauca coffee.

Representative Coffee: FrontStreet Coffee · Colombian Cauca Sakura Coffee Beans
Processing Method: Washed Processing
Brewing Equipment: Hario V60
Grind Size: Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve 80% pass rate
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Water Temperature Recommendation: 90-91°C
Brewing Recommendation: Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, pour in small circles to 125g then segment, continue pouring to 225g when water level drops to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup when water level drops to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 2'00".
Flavor Description: Chamomile and spice aromas greet you, with fresh lime flavor in the mouth, clean fruit acidity reverberating in the mouth.

Nariño

Nariño Province is located in the southwest of the country, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the west and Ecuador to the south. The Andes Mountains run through the province, with coffee grown in high-altitude cloud belts of 1,600-2,300 meters, with fertile volcanic soil, smaller but full beans, and vibrant green color.

The vast majority of Nariño's annual production is purchased by large American bean merchants. Nariño Province is located in southwest Colombia, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the west and neighboring country Ecuador to the south. The Andes Mountains run through this province, with magnificent mountains and beautiful scenery, and many rivers flow through this area to the south. It belongs to Colombia's high mountain coffee cultivation area, nurturing many smallholders of specialty coffee. Nariño Province's total annual production is about 150,000 bags, with only about 6,000 bags belonging to selected beans.

Fabian Zarama is a coffee farmer from Colombia's Nariño producing region, whose farm is near La Florida. In recent years, Nariño has attracted strong attention from the specialty coffee community, with high altitudes reaching 2,000 meters, plus special microclimate, temperatures maintained between 16-25°C, and the local Mount Galeras is one of the world's most active volcanoes. Fertile volcanic soil allows Nariño to produce exceptional coffee. Not only is the quality generally good, but the flavors are also quite unique.

Zarama established a standard cultivation process, with fixed fertilization, cleaning and plant care, harvesting high-quality coffee year after year. This special batch is a single variety: Caturra, planted at an altitude of 1,900 meters, using clean spring water for washed processing. Cherries are depulped and fermented for 18 hours, then dried for 15 days.

During blind tasting, Zarama Caturra coffee has particularly outstanding flavors, full-bodied, rich and complex fruit flavors, plus nutty taste, very special.

Representative Coffee: FrontStreet Coffee · Fabian Zarama Caturra Coffee Beans
Processing Method: Washed Processing
Brewing Equipment: Hario V60
Grind Size: Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve 80% pass rate
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Water Temperature Recommendation: 90-91°C
Brewing Recommendation: Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds, pour in small circles to 125g then segment, continue pouring to 225g when water level drops to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup when water level drops to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom), extraction time 2'00".
Flavor Description: Cream candy, cola, cherry, refreshing acidity, rich texture

Harvest Seasons (Different by Region)

Colombian coffee cultivation is distributed along the Andes Mountains, from south to north, roughly divided into northern producing regions, central producing regions, and southern producing regions. The central region has primary and secondary harvest seasons, while the northern and southern regions have one harvest season each. Due to differences in geographical and climatic characteristics from north to south, the northern and southern harvest seasons are opposite, while the central region has different primary and secondary harvest seasons depending on whether it leans more north or south. You could say beans are produced year-round. Here we mainly distinguish regions by winter harvest season and summer harvest season.

Coffee Processing

The vast majority of Colombian coffee is processed using washed methods. Unlike other South and Central American countries, most coffee growers process coffee in their own washing plants. Each smallholder family has a small specialized processor (Ecomill or Eco-Pulper). Harvested coffee cherries are poured into it, not only removing skin and pulp but also removing most of the mucilage, requiring only very little water. Next, the parchment beans with residual small amounts of mucilage enter a small pool or container, which could be a cement pool (some with tiles) or a stainless steel bucket, placed overnight for fermentation to loosen residual mucilage, then rinsed with clean water the next day, completing the washed processing. Doing all processing at home allows growers to have complete control over coffee quality.

Depending on weather, if weather is good, natural drying is of course the first choice. If conditions allow, there will be a large greenhouse with wooden racks for shade drying (Green House); otherwise, it's spread on an empty cement ground for drying (Patio); if weather is bad with continuous rain, drying machines are used, which have intake temperature control, usually around 50°C.

In recent years, Colombia has developed an environmentally friendly washing method. In this new method, water is reused, reducing the water needed to produce 1kg of green coffee beans from 40L to 0.6-2L. Very environmentally friendly, but it affects the quality of green coffee beans. Perhaps this is why Colombian green beans easily turn white.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473