Narino—The Softness and Clarity from Colombia How to Make Narino Coffee Pour-Over

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Germany's imports account for 25% of Colombia's total exports, which also reflects the country's excellent quality from one perspective. Coffee grades are divided into three levels: Supreme (Supremo), Excellent (Excelso), and Extraordinary Quality (UGQ, Unusual Good Quality). Among the excellent grade, Klauss coffee is exported to Germany, while Europa coffee is exported to Nordic countries. In most coffee shops, you can buy both excellent grade and supreme grade coffee. The professional difference between the two is: supreme grade coffee uses larger coffee beans, and its raw materials come from newly harvested coffee beans, making it easier to ensure product quality. Excellent grade coffee typically has a milder taste than supreme grade coffee with slightly higher acidity, but both belong to the aromatic category, with moderate bean size and excellent fruit quality. Colombian coffee is often described as having a silky smooth texture. Among all coffees, it has the best balance, with a soft, smooth mouthfeel that can be enjoyed anytime.

The challenging problem faced by Colombian coffee growers: whether to replace Bourbon coffee trees with fast-growing, high-yield Arabica coffee trees. Some say the quality won't be as good as before, but others argue that in the most suitable coffee-growing regions, the quality difference won't be significant.

Colombia's Nariño Province is located in the southwestern part of the country, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the west and Ecuador to the south. The Andes Mountains run through the entire province, with coffee grown in the high-altitude cloud belt between 1600-2300 meters. The soil consists of fertile volcanic geology. The beans are small but plump, with a vibrant green color. The majority of the annual production from the Nariño region is purchased by large American bean merchants and is very popular in the North American market.

◆ The Nariño region is located in the Andes Mountains at the junction of southeastern Colombia and Ecuador, near 0° latitude at the equator. Throughout the year, the daily sunlight hours received are almost identical. Stable temperature changes between morning and evening, along with annual rainfall, generate rich organic matter in the soil, allowing coffee trees in the Nariño region to thrive in very high-altitude areas, creating quite distinctive aromatic characteristics.

Colombia's geographical environment is excellent: low latitude, high altitude, with coffee trees mostly planted in the Andes Mountains between 1,200-1,900 meters. Moreover, the planting area extends from south to north, with staggered production seasons throughout the year, making it the world's third-largest coffee supplier. Particularly, Colombian coffee is of the Arabica variety, featuring balanced, persistent, bright, and mellow flavors. It's easy-to-brew good coffee, very suitable for small households, and even office workers (lazy people XD) who are accustomed to quick American coffee machines or moka pots.

Currently, Colombia has two main types of production regions: commercial coffee regions and specialty coffee regions. Commercial coffee is distributed in the north-central Medellín, Armenia, and Manizales, collectively known as MAM. The high-altitude regions in the south are where specialty coffee is produced, such as: Huila Province's San Agustín region, Cauca Province, Tolima Province, and Nariño Province (commonly translated as "Nalinglong" in Taiwan).

Here lies the hidden commercial trap: how do I know if the coffee beans I bought are commercial coffee or specialty coffee?

Colombian coffee bean grading is based on the "size" of green beans (1 mesh = 1/64 inch). So how do you determine green bean size? Let everyone "screen" them together! There are three grades in total: Supremo (highest grade 17/18 mesh, where 17 mesh is 6.75mm and 18 mesh is 7mm), Excelso Extra (16/15 mesh), and U.G.Q. (Usual Good Quality, 14/12 mesh, which belongs to commercial use beans! See that XD). Therefore, when selecting Colombian coffee beans, besides visually judging the bean size, you must repeatedly confirm the coffee bean "origin region" to ensure it's authentic specialty coffee.

One of Colombia's most famous production regions is Nariño Province. Its actual name is Narino, which literally translates to "Nali'ou" and is rendered as "Nalinglong" in China's coffee community. Nariño's flavor is balanced and delicate, clean with rich notes of apricot, grapefruit, and toffee, making it widely beloved. This is because: Colombia is known for high altitudes, with lower altitudes in the north-central region primarily producing commercial beans, while the central-southern region mainly produces specialty beans. The central-southern region is also the exclusive zone for past "Cup of Excellence" and SCAA "Coffee of the Year" winners, with Nariño Province being one of them. Meanwhile, Colombian coffee bean quality has over 200 grade levels, with Select (SUPERMO) being the highest grade, followed by Premium (EXCELSO); however, only Select grade coffee with beans above 18 mesh (18/64 inch diameter) can be classified as specialty coffee. And Nariño is of Select (SUPERMO) quality. This is also inseparable from Nariño's choice of excellent Caturra varieties and superior natural conditions.

Pour-Over Colombian Nariño Coffee

Day one: Bloom time was 30 seconds. During the pour-over, the nutty aroma (macadamia nut flavor) was pronounced, but the taste revealed a completely new world! First came vegetable-like tomato notes, followed by lemon fruit acidity. The flavor was rich and mellow. It was very interesting to taste coffee with vegetable-like notes for the first time!

Day two: Switched to Brita filtered water, maintaining 30 seconds bloom time. The vegetable-like (tomato) notes decreased upon entry, while the fruit acidity (lemon) notes increased. The taste was richer and more mellow than the first day. When tasted at around 35°C, the lemon's sourness became even more pronounced.

Although Colombian coffee beans may not have the uniqueness of Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe region, the rich and mellow mouthfeel is equally irresistible, and it's an excellent choice for coffee blending.

[Notes] Pour-over tools: stainless steel eco-friendly filter, narrow-spout pour-over kettle. Coffee powder to water ratio was 12g brewed to 140ml.

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