Introduction to Colombia's Huila Naranjos Region - Colombian Coffee Overview

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Orange River: Premium Coffee from Colombia's Huila Region

Huila Province, in western Colombia, is one of the country's key specialty coffee regions. Within it, the town of San Augustin — traversed by the Los Naranjos River — is especially prized. "Naranjos" means orange in Spanish, so the combined production batch from the region's small farmers is named Orange River.

The hillsides on both banks of the river belong to local smallholder farmers, forming a beautiful community dotted with lavender that also serves as a natural habitat for butterflies and hummingbirds. To the west it borders the Cueva de los Quacharo Biological Reserve, which spans 500 square miles. The region sits in a canyon where the western coastal range and the eastern range of the Colombian Andes meet. Ancient inhabitants once lived here and left behind numerous giant stone sculptures. Because of this special setting, the local people believe the great natural forces of the forest will shield their land from harsh weather and grant them a peaceful, tranquil home.

In 2001, the local smallholder farmers gathered to improve their production and management techniques in order to enter the specialty coffee market. They founded an organization called La Asociacion Los Naranjos de San Augustin, which has since grown to 50 members farming a total of 150 hectares, with an average farm size of 2.8 hectares. During the main harvest, each hectare yields approximately 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms; the secondary harvest (the "fly crop") adds about half that amount. In the secondary season, because each member's individual output is too small to fill a micro-lot, farmers with similar cup profiles pool their harvests into a single combined batch for sale.

Los Naranjos' unique terroir and its dedication to quality — on top of stable, high-quality output — saw it stand out among 100 coffee samples at the 2009 SCAA annual competition, earning recognition as Coffee of the Year (SCAA COTY Winner).

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee suggests these brewing parameters:

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

French press: Grind 4, water temperature 90°C

Siphon: Grind 4, water temperature 90°C to 91°C

AeroPress: Grind 3.5, water temperature 90°C

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Colombian coffee wears many hats — espresso blends, pour-over single origins, fruit-forward or full-bodied, aromatic — and FrontStreet Coffee's Colombia shelf reflects that range. To get to know the Huila region featured in this article, start with the FrontStreet washed Huila: grown on the hill country of Colombia's southern Central Cordillera above 1,500 meters where the country's great rivers converge, and roasted medium-dark to bring out black chocolate, nutty sweetness, moderate oils, and a full-bodied richness that works for pour-over, French press, moka pot, and espresso alike. For something more experimental, the FrontStreet Colombia Pink Bourbon from Finca Frontera (1,650-1,800 meters) undergoes double anaerobic natural processing — low-oxygen fermentation that coaxes out passion fruit, blueberry, grape, and apricot with a lingering cocoa finish, superb as pour-over, SOE espresso, or iced pour-over. And if you brew with a home espresso machine or moka pot, the FrontStreet Signature Espresso Blend — Brazil's creamy nuttiness married to Colombia's dark chocolate bittersweetness, with fine golden crema — makes a beginner-friendly base for lattes, Americanos, cappuccinos, and mochas.