How to Brew Pure Latin American Coffee - Latin American Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

Characteristics of Latin American Coffee Beans: Balanced, Moderately Acidic and Mellow

Central and South America is the world's largest coffee-producing region, with countless specialty coffees. Take Colombia, Guatemala, or Brazil alone for example—the excellent coffees are dazzling. What resource advantages make Central and South America so exceptional?

In 1721, French naval officer Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu overcame numerous hardships to bring the first coffee seedling from Africa to Martinique in Latin America. This marks the origin of coffee cultivation in Latin America. Because France was under the rule of the Bourbon dynasty at that time, the Arabica coffee cultivated in Latin America acquired another name that remains renowned in the coffee industry today: "Bourbon." Today, Bourbon has become an important branch of Arabica coffee.

The overall flavor profile of Latin American coffee is characterized by balance, as all coffee flavors can be found in Latin American coffees. The widespread use of wet processing for green beans is also one of the characteristics of Latin American coffee. The excellent processing process also results in beans that are larger and more uniform compared to African coffee, with lower defect rates.

Understanding Coffee Bean Flavors Before Purchasing

Coffee beans themselves have distinct regional characteristics. Before purchasing, understanding the coffee bean's flavor profile can be largely determined from information on the label.

Coffee labels are similar to wine labels. Common contents include the following items:

(1) Coffee variety;
(2) Coffee name;
(3) Grade;
(4) Growing region;
(5) Estate or processing mill name;
(6) Country name;
(7) Roasting date;
(8) Flavor descriptions, etc.

Introduction to the Most Popular Latin American Coffee Bean Flavors

■ Panama

An important reason for Panama coffee's unique quality is its microclimate. Panama borders Costa Rica and Colombia, and the east-to-west environment allows cold air currents to flow through the central mountain range and converge above 6,500 feet, creating a very unique microclimate in the Boquete and Volcán Candela regions. This makes it the main producing area for Panama coffee. The land surrounding these areas is rich in nutrients, and these fertile soils provide perfect growing conditions for coffee, shaping numerous unique, high-quality coffees.

Panama coffee is world-renowned for Geisha, which is inseparable from Panama's exceptional natural geographical conditions. Moderate body, smooth texture, delicate aroma, balanced flavor value, plus hints of caramel, chocolate, citrus, and jasmine.

[Panama]: Panama is a country in Central America

[Boquete]: Boquete is a famous coffee-producing region, a town in the Chiriqui province

[Washed]: Wet processing, which involves removing the skin, pulp, and mucilage, then drying; guided into a clean water tank and soaked in water for fermentation. Characteristics: noticeable acidity, good cleanliness, medium body, high stability.

[Variety]: Due to the estate's history, in pursuit of yield at that time, early Geisha varieties were mixed planted with Caturra and Catuai varieties. To facilitate harvesting, coffee farmers did not reclassify but directly processed the three varieties together. Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai are coffee bean varieties.

[SHB]: Strictly Hard Bean (SHB), altitude between 1600-1700 meters. High altitude [coffee bean hardness] is higher because coffee beans have more nutrients, longer fruit growth cycles, higher density, and can withstand high-temperature roasting; beans have hard texture.

■ Guatemala

Guatemala's central region produces world-renowned, exceptionally flavorful coffee. Coffee beans from this area often have smoky notes and cocoa aroma, with slightly stronger acidity.

This is the coffee bean most familiar to Japanese people. The first producing area is San Marcos, located in the mountainous region adjacent to Mexico. The second producing area is Caféal in Quezaltenango. Other famous areas include Cobán and Antigua. Slightly acidic, mellow, and smooth, it's the best material for blended coffee. Its classification is divided into seven grades based on altitude. High-altitude origins are more mellow, while low-altitude coffee beans have lower quality.

● Flavor characteristics: Bitter and aromatic, excellent texture.

[Guatemala]: Guatemala is a country in Latin America

[El Injerto]: Injerto Estate, one of the world's top coffee estates. Injerto Estate is located in the famous Vivette Nanguo Plateau region of Guatemala and has been cultivating coffee since 1900 by the Aguirre family. The estate name "Injerto" comes from a local fruit name. Injerto Estate (also translated as Graft Estate)

[Pandora Fatima]: In the bidding for Injerto Estate, they specially launched the "BEST Injerto" series. This batch from Pandora won the COE championship.

[Pacamara]: A coffee variety, discovered in El Salvador in the 1950s. It's a hybrid of Pacas (a natural mutation of Bourbon) and Maragogype (Elephant Bean).

[Washed]: Wet processing, which involves removing the skin, pulp, and mucilage, then drying; guided into a clean water tank and soaked in water for fermentation. Characteristics: noticeable acidity, good cleanliness, medium body, high stability.

■ Brazil (South America)

This largest coffee-producing region provides various grades and types of coffee that account for one-third of global consumption. It holds a significant position in the global coffee trading market. Although Brazil faces natural disasters several times higher than other regions, its plantable area is sufficient to compensate.

The coffee varieties here are numerous, but its industrial policy focuses on quantity and low cost, so extremely premium coffees are not abundant, but it's an excellent choice for blending with other coffees.

Among the most famous is Santos coffee, with its mellow, neutral flavor. It can be brewed directly or mixed with other types of coffee beans to create blended coffee, which is also an excellent choice.

Other types of Brazilian coffee such as Rio, Paraná, etc., can be produced in large quantities without excessive care. Although the flavor is somewhat rough, they remain cost-effective coffees. Due to distribution throughout the country, quality varies, and it has its own standards (classified by impurity content NO.2--NO.8, by bean size NO.13--NO.19, and by flavor into six grades). Almost all Arabica varieties have good quality and stable prices. The most famous is "Brazil Santos," which has been an essential ingredient for blended coffee since ancient times and is familiar to the public. Recently, "Tolmancup" has also received high ratings.

● Flavor characteristics: Mild, moderate acidity and bitterness, gentle aroma.

[Brazil]: Brazil's coffee production ranks first in the world. Brazil has 21 states, with 17 producing coffee.

[Mogiana]: Mogiana, this region is very close to southern Minas. Coffee is cultivated among shrubs, grasslands, and other vegetation. Many farming families exist in this area, some operating traditional large farms.

[Fazenda Rainha]: Rainha Estate. In 2011, the estate won the championship in Brazil's COE competition. Owned by the coffee family Carvalho Dias family. The four major estates under Carvalho Dias have won awards every year since the first Brazil COE competition in 1999, with more than 12 awards in 7 years, even sweeping first, ninth, and eleventh places in 2004.

[COE]: Cup of Excellence.

[Natural]: The oldest, most original coffee processing method. Harvested coffee cherries are placed on patios, and some are even directly exposed to sunlight on roadsides, receiving direct sun exposure (approximately 27-30 days), reducing moisture from 60% to about 12%. Natural process characteristics: lowest acidity, noticeable sweetness, high body, slightly lower cleanliness.

[Yellow Bourbon]: Yellow Bourbon: A hybrid mutation between red-fruited Bourbon and a yellow-fruited Typica variant called "Amerelo de Botocatu." Sweet and smooth fruit sweetness, noticeable nutty flavor, balanced and gentle acidity, clean.

■ Costa Rica

Coffee beans produced in Costa Rica's high-altitude regions are world-renowned—rich, mild in flavor, but extremely acidic. Coffee beans here are carefully processed, which is why they achieve high quality.

Famous coffee comes from the Central Plateau region, where the soil consists of several thick layers of volcanic ash and volcanic dust.

Superior aroma with acidity receives high praise. Production areas can be roughly divided into three regions: Pacific coast, Atlantic coast, and intermediate zones, each with grades based on altitude. All coffee beans are quite large, especially those from the Pacific coastal highlands, which are acidic and aromatic—premium coffee beans. Additionally, the new brand "Cerro Claro" has emerged. Atlantic coastal lowland coffee beans are acidic but not mellow, with nothing special.

● Flavor characteristics: Chocolate aroma and nutty flavors, moderately acidic and mellow.

[Costa Rica]: Costa Rica

[Tarrazú]: Located on the low-latitude volcanic belt of Central America, with the highest average latitude, excellent climate and soil conditions. The Central Plateau and mountainous areas have altitudes of approximately 800-2000 meters, very suitable for coffee growth, making Tarrazú the most famous and generally recognized as the best coffee-producing region in Costa Rica.

[Canet]: Canet Estate, located in the highest coffee-producing area of Costa Rica's Tarrazú region. This region is the most densely concentrated fruit-growing area in Costa Rica. The estate owner primarily grows passion fruit, with coffee quantities being quite small, only cultivated in a special area.

[Raisin Honey Process]: Raisin honey processing. First, coffee cherries are dried to a raisin-like state, then depulped for honey processing fermentation. In terms of flavor, fermentation aromas are richer, and mucilage preservation is higher than other honey processes, claiming to be 100% mucilage honey processing with real raisin flavors. This is quite a sweet processing method, with white wine texture and balanced acidity. In terms of flavor, fermentation aromas are richer, and mucilage preservation is higher than other honey processes, somewhat like "noble rot" sweet wine, with honey, dried apricot, raisin, peach, and other flavors.

[Yellow Catuai]: Yellow Catuai, from a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra, first cultivated by Brazil's [Campinas Agronomic Institute] in 1949. Yellow Catuai, like Red Catuai, has high disease resistance and is suitable for high-altitude cultivation. Both Catuai varieties have delicate, clean acidity.

■ Honduras (Central America)

Washed coffee beans from mountainous regions receive higher praise, while those produced in lowlands are slightly inferior in quality. Famous producing areas include Santa Bárbara, Gracias, Comayagua in the east, and Choluteca near Nicaragua. Coffee bean sizes range from medium to large, characterized by mild flavor. Premium products here are also divided into three grades based on altitude.

● Flavor characteristics: Acidic with slight sweetness.

[Honduras]: Honduras, one of the important coffee-producing countries in Central America.

[San Juancito]: San Juancito, a small village in central Honduras, located 40 kilometers northeast of the capital Tegucigalpa. Coffee here is grown on mountains at altitudes of 1450-1550 meters, shaded by banana, avocado, and papaya trees. Coffee farmers hand-pick ripe fruits during harvest season, process them using washed method, then dry them in the sun. Fermentation water containing coffee skins and pulp from washing is collected and used as fertilizer for coffee trees.

[Lot]: Batch

[Washed]: Washed method. Generally requires soaking first; during soaking, defective fruits float to the surface and can be drained and discarded. Then good fruits are placed in a depulper, using machine rotation to remove the skin. Depulped fruits are screened by machine to select high-quality fruits. Usually, larger fruits represent better maturity. Honduras coffee uses sun-drying method, so its flavor always has a faint fruity aroma.

[Bourbon]: Bourbon coffee (French: Café Bourbon) is coffee produced from Arabica coffee Bourbon cultivar trees. Bourbon coffee was originally cultivated in Réunion, which was called Bourbon Island (le Bourbon) before 1789, containing rich chocolate aroma and nutty flavors.

■ Colombia (South America)

This second-largest coffee industry country, second only to Brazil in production, is also a leader in the Colombian Mild group (Colombia, Tanzania, Kenya) (Note: Colombian Mild group is one of the New York Exchange's classifications by origin, along with Other Milds, Unwashed Arabica, and Robusta). More famous producing areas include "Medellín," "Manizales," "Bogotá," "Armenia," etc. The coffee beans cultivated here are all Arabica varieties, with quite intense flavor, stable quality and price. Roasted coffee beans appear larger and more beautiful.

It can produce from low-grade to high-grade products, including some rare excellences with mellow flavors that are irresistible.

● Flavor characteristics: Heavy and intense acidity, bitterness, and sweetness, with color like fine wine.

[Colombia]: Colombia, an important producer of commercial Arabica coffee

[Cauca]: Cauca Department, harvest season from March to June. Named after the Cauca River. Located in southwestern Colombia, together with Nariño Department and Huila Department, they form important specialty coffee-producing regions in Colombia.

[Micro lot]: Micro batch

[FNC]: Colombian Coffee Growers Federation. This organization was established in 1927 and comprehensively handles all coffee-related matters, including coffee cultivation technology research, sales, marketing, quality standard construction, coffee farmer education and training, etc.

[Caturra]: Caturra, a natural variety of Arabica Bourbon.

Latin American Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee roasted various Latin American coffee beans with full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, the cost-performance ratio is extremely high. A half-pound (227g) package costs only about 80-100 yuan. Calculating at 15g powder per cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only 5-6 yuan. Compared to cafés selling cups for over 100 yuan, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473