Introduction to Colombia's Finca La Cabana Estate - Colombian Coffee Introduction

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Colombian Coffee Geography and Grading

Three Cordillera mountain ranges run north-south throughout Colombia, extending into the Andes. Local coffee farmers cultivate coffee along the highlands of these mountain ranges, benefiting from diverse climatic conditions. Due to variations in terrain and altitude, Colombia's coffee industry is largely characterized by small-scale farming operations.

Unlike Central American coffee-producing countries that typically grade by growing altitude, Colombian coffee is classified by bean sieve size. Among these, the Supremo grade, consisting of beans 17 sieve and above, is the largest. The next grading level is EXCELSO EXTRA, which mainly consists of 16 sieve beans.

Finca La Cabana Estate

Finca La Cabana Estate is situated deep within pristine forests, where mountain infrastructure is very poor. Most people need to spend considerable time to find the specific mountain where the estate is located. One can only park outside and must walk for 20 minutes to reach the washing station. The entire estate area greatly resembles the wild growth of coffee trees we often see in Ethiopia.

Farm Management and Processing

This coffee farm has been in operation for over 80 years and has now gone through three generations of management. Compared with other farms specializing in specialty coffee cultivation and processing, although Finca La Cabana has transitioned to specialty coffee production for eight years, it remains at a relatively backward management level due to its terrain and remote location. For example, the farm's infrastructure is poor, with frequent power outages, and rarely uses cement-poured washing fermentation tanks. However, they make full use of existing conditions to process high-quality coffee.

During harvest season, around 4 PM, before depulping, all fresh cherries will be manually sorted and graded, then depulped. Before undergoing 3-4 rounds of washing, they undergo 24 hours of dry fermentation, followed by hand sorting to remove low-grade coffee beans. At this point, these processed high-quality coffee beans will be placed on drying racks for 24 hours of shade drying, and the final product will be sent to drying rooms for continued drying for 20-30 days.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's recommended brewing parameters:

Pour-over: V60 dripper, Fuji R440 grinder setting 3.5, water temperature around 90°C

French press: Recommended grinder setting 4, water temperature 90°C

Siphon: Recommended grinder setting 4, water temperature between 90°C-91°C

AeroPress: Recommended grinder setting 3.5, water temperature 90°C

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473