How to Choose Coffee Beans? Which Coffee Bean Brand is Good_What Makes Coffee Beans Delicious

Whenever we search for Colombian coffee brands, we come across a very familiar logo: a coffee farmer named Uncle Juan with a simple, honest face, wearing a white straw hat, draped in an Andean wool vest, carrying a leather bag diagonally, wearing canvas shoes, and accompanied by his loyal mule. This symbol appears in various advertisements and films, bringing the classic brand image of Colombian coffee to the world.

Colombian coffee is grown in the valley regions of the Andes Mountains.

Colombia's coffee-producing regions are situated within the Andes Mountains, with climates varying by topography. The southern part of the eastern plains and the Pacific coast have a tropical rainforest climate, while mountainous areas at elevations of 1,000-2,000 meters have a subtropical climate, and the northwest region has a tropical savanna climate. The average temperature in coffee regions varies between 18°C-22.5°C.

Due to geographical and climatic differences, whether you're looking for coffee with a full, rich flavor or vibrant, fruity coffee, you should be able to find it in Colombia.

Colombia's coffee regions have very clear boundaries, with latitude spanning across the Andes Mountains' terrain effects. From south to north, they are divided into three major regions: northern, central, and southern. The northern and southern regions have distinct harvest seasons, while the central region has primary and secondary harvest seasons depending on whether it's more northern or southern, with two harvest periods annually. The main harvest season is from October to January, and the secondary harvest season is from April to July.

The diverse climate between the mountains means harvest season occurs year-round. Different types of coffee mature at different times, so we can see busy figures picking coffee in the forests during various seasons.

Last century, Colombian coffee was most famously known for the "MAM" formed by Medellin, Armenia, and Manizales. With the development of specialty coffee, many specialty coffee-producing areas have emerged in southern Colombia, including San Augustin in Huila, Popayan in Cauca, Nariño, and Tolima. The high altitude and unique processing methods produce coffee with refined acidity and fruity flavors, often achieving excellent rankings in Cup of Excellence competitions.

After multiple cupping comparisons, FrontStreet Coffee selected washed coffee beans from the Huila region as the representative of Colombian coffee, offering them in small packages so everyone can taste classic Colombian flavors.

Huila Province is located in the southern part of the central mountain range in southern Colombia and is the most famous specialty coffee-producing region in Colombia. The area consists of hills surrounded by mountains, with cultivation altitudes above 1,500 meters, possessing the high altitude and suitable temperatures for growing high-quality Arabica beans.

With excellent soil and geographical advantages for coffee cultivation, Colombia's most important rivers converge here, bringing abundant water resources and moisture. The climate of the canyon slopes not only prevents cold winds from entering but also provides cooling mountain breezes without high temperatures, and there is sufficient rainfall, making it an exceptionally blessed region for coffee cultivation.

Traditional Washing Method for Colombian Coffee

Colombia's coffee-producing regions have abundant water resources, making them very suitable for washed processing. Family-run farms are typically equipped with special green bean processors (Ecomill or Eco-Pulper). Farmers pour harvested coffee cherries into them, which not only removes the skin and pulp but also requires very little water to remove most of the mucilage. The parchment beans with small amounts of residual mucilage then enter a small pool or container, possibly a tiled pool, where they ferment overnight 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. The washed processing method ensures high coffee quality and allows Huila coffee to display its most authentic flavor characteristics. This is also why FrontStreet Coffee prioritizes washed processing batches when selecting daily coffee beans.

Colombian Green Bean Grading Characteristics

Currently, Colombian coffee green beans are graded by size. Although bean size is not the main determinant of coffee quality and flavor, many producing regions believe that full, uniform, and large beans indicate that the coffee beans have reached complete maturity, can develop better aromatic profiles, and are more conducive to even roasting, thus forming consistent flavors.

Typically, screens of fixed sizes are used, with different specifications corresponding to different hole sizes. For example, if the screen holes are 17 mesh size, beans larger than this size cannot pass through the screen, so the larger the screen number, the larger the bean particles that remain on the screen. The most common export grades are UGQ, EP, and Supremo.

Excelso UGQ 12*60 (1.5%): UGQ stands for Usual Good Quality. Green beans are above 14 mesh size, allowing 1.5% of beans to be between 12-14 mesh, but they must be above 12 mesh, with over 50% larger than 15 mesh.

Excelso EP 12*60 (10%): EP stands for European Preparation. Green beans are above 15 mesh size, allowing 10% of beans to be smaller than 15 mesh, but they must be above 14 mesh.

Excelso Supremo 12*60 (5%): Green beans are above 17 mesh size, allowing 5% of beans to be smaller than 17 mesh, but they must be above 14 mesh.

Regardless of the green bean size grade, as long as green beans are exported, they belong to the Excelso grade. In other words, most Colombian coffee green bean bags exported worldwide today must be marked with the Excelso grade designation. The Excelso export grade is currently the most widely used export standard adopted by FNC and is also the highest grade for Colombian green bean exports.

Additionally, Colombia has beans above 16 mesh called Extra, those above 18 mesh (even larger than Supremo) called Premium, and beans almost uniformly at 15 mesh called Minama, among others. Colombia also has coffee beans that don't reach the Excelso export grade, which are locally called "Product of Colombia" and generally used for making commercial-grade instant coffee.

In Colombia, each farmer reports a number and inputs green bean information, facilitating future green bean traceability. The names of exported Colombian coffee green beans typically follow the format of country+region+grade+other information. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's Huila daily coffee beans are Colombia Huila Supremo SC17/18 FNC.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations

The washed Huila daily coffee beans have both soft acidity and appropriate body with sweet aftertaste. FrontStreet Coffee aims to present classic Colombian nutty notes while preserving some acidity, choosing a medium-dark roast. Before introducing any coffee bean, FrontStreet Coffee conducts at least one cupping evaluation, which allows us to more objectively demonstrate the coffee's strengths and weaknesses.

Considering that the Huila daily coffee beans use medium-dark roasting, with flavors leaning toward nutty and chocolate-rich, full-bodied profiles, the increased roasting makes the coffee beans more porous, and the coffee grounds more absorbent. To avoid extracting excessive off-flavors, FrontStreet Coffee chooses a medium grind size. In terms of temperature, FrontStreet Coffee slightly lowers the water temperature to avoid excessive bitter flavors from medium-dark roast coffee, pairing it with a KONO dripper for extraction.

Dripper: KONO dripper

Water temperature: 88°C

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Coffee grounds: 15g

Grind size: EK43s - setting 10.5 (75% pass-through rate for #20 standard sieve)

Pour the coffee grounds into a V60 dripper, wet the coffee bed with twice the amount of water as the coffee grounds to form a dome, and let it bloom for 30 seconds. Then use a small water stream to pour in circles from inside to outside until reaching 125g, then segment. Wait until the coffee bed drops to half the dripper's height, then continue with the same fine water stream to inject the third segment to 225g, until all coffee liquid has filtered through, then remove the dripper. The time should be approximately 2 minutes.

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

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473