Colombian Arabica Coffee Beans Flavor Characteristics and Taste Introduction - How to Brew Colombian Coffee Beans for a Delicious Pour-Over

Colombia boasts exceptional natural terroir conditions, producing coffee with rich body, nutty and dark chocolate aromas, and smooth, pleasant fruit acidity that has always been widely popular. High-quality Colombian coffee, known for combining mellow aromatics with clean口感, is often used in espresso blend formulations. Among the 4 espresso blend beans launched by FrontStreet Coffee, three contain Colombian coffee beans. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee discusses the factors that influence the flavor characteristics of Colombian coffee.

Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee producer and exporter, and the largest exporter of Arabica coffee beans. Colombia borders Brazil, the world's largest coffee-producing country, to the east and Panama to the northwest. Colombia's main coffee-growing regions are distributed along three Andes mountain ranges arranged in a parallel pattern. These mountain ranges run north-south, and coffee is cultivated at elevations of 800-2,300 meters along these ranges. Unique microclimates, combined with rich mineral volcanic ash soil, moderate sunlight, rainfall, and cloud shade, create ideal natural conditions for growing high-quality Arabica coffee here. The diverse climate between the mountains means harvesting occurs year-round, with different coffee varieties maturing at different times, allowing us to see busy figures picking coffee in the forests throughout all seasons.

Processing Methods and Water Resources

Colombia has abundant water resources, and most coffee undergoes washed processing. Family-run farms are equipped with specialized green bean processing machines (Ecomill or Eco-Pulper). Harvested coffee cherries are poured into these machines, which not only remove the skin and pulp but also require very little water to remove most of the mucilage. The parchment beans with residual mucilage enter a small pool or container, possibly a tiled pool, for overnight fermentation to loosen the remaining mucilage. The next day, they are thoroughly rinsed with clean water and finally spread out to dry in the sun until reaching the target moisture content.

Regional Characteristics and Flavor Profiles

Today, there are many Colombian coffees on the market using novel processing methods that present more concrete flavors. FrontStreet Coffee believes that to understand a coffee-producing region, one should start by tasting the coffee's inherent flavors—that is, using natural processing methods: washed and natural. The washed process significantly reduces defect rates in coffee beans, preserves the beans' own flavors, and presents higher cleanliness. The Colombian daily bean launched by FrontStreet Coffee uses washed processing and is sourced from the famous Huila region. FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean series is offered in 100g small packages, covering 7 major classic producing regions including Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Yunnan, and Guatemala. Friends new to the coffee world can get to know the flavors of major classic producing regions through tasting, thereby determining their preferred flavor types.

Located in the south, Huila is a very popular specialty producing region in recent years and is a Colombian coffee origin-certified region. The cultivation elevation here ranges from 1,700-2,100 meters, surrounded by diverse hilly terrain. The Colombia River converges here, providing ample water resources for coffee tree growth. Additionally, being near the equator and surrounded by mountains, coffee is protected from the humid air of the Pacific Ocean and the trade winds blowing from the south, making the climate here very stable throughout the year. This area also has famous volcanic soil. FrontStreet Coffee chose washed-processed coffee from the Huila region as Colombia's representative, using medium-dark roast to restore the classic rich and mellow Colombian taste.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's flavor descriptions for each coffee are based on freshly roasted beans. If coffee beans have been stored for more than a month, some aromas may have been lost, making it difficult to restore the original flavors during brewing. FrontStreet Coffee also deeply understands the importance of freshness, therefore ensuring only coffee beans roasted within 5 days are shipped, so everyone can enjoy the complete flavor window upon receipt.

When brewing rich, bitter-tasting coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee prioritizes using the KONO dripper. So-called bitter flavors refer to medium-dark roasted coffees with flavor types like nuts, dark chocolate, caramel, and hazelnut. Observing the KONO dripper's shape, it only has ribs in the middle and lower parts, while the upper portion consists of smooth curved surfaces. This way, when we moisten the dripper, it fits tightly with the filter paper, restricting exhaust during coffee extraction. Therefore, hot water remains in the dripper longer, increasing coffee extraction rate and concentration, resulting in more intense and rich coffee flavors. The KONO dripper is also suitable for beans with rich flavor profiles like Indonesian Mandheling coffee and Brazil Queen Estate coffee.

Brewing Parameters

FrontStreet Coffee uses 15g of coffee powder for brewing. The choice of powder amount usually references the filter cup's design specifications. FrontStreet Coffee's filter cups are suitable for 1-2 person servings, allowing between 15-20g of powder. Excessive amounts can easily affect extraction. Regarding powder-to-water ratio choices, 1:15 is most commonly applied, with ratios between 1:13-1:17 all being acceptable. FrontStreet Coffee believes everyone's taste is different—1:13 might be too strong for some people, while 1:17 might be too weak, so we take the middle value of 1:15.

Considering that Huila daily beans use medium-dark roast with flavors leaning toward nutty, chocolate-rich, and mellow tones, the deeper roasting makes coffee beans more porous and coffee powder more absorbent. Therefore, we choose medium grind size. To avoid extracting excessive bitterness, FrontStreet Coffee lowers the water temperature slightly, using medium 90°C water temperature combined with pour-over extraction.

Brewing parameters: KONO dripper, 90°C water temperature, #20 standard sieve 75% pass rate grind size, 1:15 powder-to-water ratio, powder amount: 15g, three-stage extraction.

Pour the coffee powder into the KONO dripper, moisten the powder bed with twice the amount of water to form a dome and bloom for 30s. Then use a small water stream to pour in circles from inside to outside until reaching 125g for the first stage. Wait until the powder bed drops to half the dripper's height, then continue with the same fine stream to pour the third stage to 225g. Remove the dripper once all coffee liquid has filtered through, taking about 2 minutes. Note to pour steadily throughout the process, trying not to disturb the powder wall to avoid uneven extraction. Gently shake the coffee in the lower pot to even it out before starting to enjoy.

Tasting Notes

This Colombian Huila daily bean has distinct roasted aromas of chocolate, nuts, and caramel upon entry. It's smooth and sweet, with moderate body and clean texture. As the temperature decreases, you can experience the soft acidity of berries.

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473