How to Drink Colombian Coffee? What are the Flavors of Colombian Coffee Beans? Colombian Coffee Culture

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Colombia's Indigenous Heritage and Coffee Diversity

According to data from the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia, ONIC), Colombia has 102 indigenous tribes speaking 64 different languages. Among the country's 228 administrative regions, 710 indigenous reserves have been established, covering a total area of 34 million hectares, approximately 29.8% of the country's total land area.

Despite the Colombian government's constitutional provisions since 1991 explicitly stating "The Colombian government recognizes and protects ethnic and cultural diversity."

Coffee Cultivation and Varieties

Of the coffee trees grown in Colombia, 66% are cultivated using modern methods in plantations, while the remainder is grown in traditionally operated small farms. Main varieties include Caturra, Colombia, Tipica, Bourbon, Maragogype, and Tabi. The country's farms and cooperatives, regardless of scale, are operated by over 500,000 farmers distributed across 590 municipalities and 14 major coffee-producing regions. A total of 2 million Colombian nationals depend on coffee cultivation for their livelihood.

Micro-Regional Selections and Quality Evolution

In recent years, with the international market's emphasis on coffee quality and the demand for specialty coffee, micro-regional production has emerged. Small coffee farmers have been organized to provide Micro-Regional Selections, where dozens of small farmers contribute their individual harvests to form a micro-batch for sale. This approach ensures better quality control and creates opportunities to select many excellent specific micro-regional smallholder coffees through cupping each batch. These coffees exhibit more vibrant flavors, with fresh ripe fruit and caramel aromas, and a more harmonious balance between acidity and sweetness.

Beyond Traditional Classification

Colombian coffee has long shed its reputation as inferior or base coffee. Through coffee competitions in recent years, people have gained a deeper understanding of Colombian coffee. Good coffee typically comes from excellent estates and some special small-producing regions such as:

The Narino region of Colombia, but the production volume of these coffees is truly limited. Before coffee competitions, Colombian coffee was classified by bean size, but this classification only represents bean size and has no relative relationship to quality. "Larger beans are better" is an outdated classification system. Instead, some excellent coffee estates or cooperatives with small production and cultivation areas produce smaller, more round, and complete beans. This represents the current mainstream of Colombian coffee, where quality is the guarantee of price.

Exceptional Coffee Regions

The Huila region in southwestern Colombia is a producer of fine coffee, along with the Narino and Tolima regions. Almost all top 10 winners in the annual Colombian coffee competitions come from these three regions. They all primarily consist of small coffee farmers with small production and cultivation areas. La Esperanza estate is located in the Huila region. The estate is not owned by an individual or family but is a collective of several coffee farmers who sell under the name La Esperanza. The estate is distributed in forests at altitudes of 1,400-1,650 meters, with fully mature coffee beans harvested by hand. The coffee farmers insist on good growing environments and persistently control the quality of excellent green coffee beans. It was the champion estate in the 2007 Colombian coffee competition and also secured 9th, 12th, and 14th places in 2008 (by different coffee growers). In November 2008, it received a high score of 93 from American coffee master Kenneth Davids (author of Coffee Review and "Home Coffee Roasting"), making it a top-tier estate in Colombia.

Colombian Coffee Naming System

Colombian coffee also has its own naming system. The meaning and rules of Colombian green coffee bean names:

Columbia Huila Supremo SC17/18 FNC

Country + Region + Grade Name + Other

FNC: Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia

Universal Appeal and Versatility

Colombian coffee is widely sold and used mainly due to its mild, pure taste and its ease of brewing, making it excellent coffee beans. Therefore, it is very popular in every household and is the perfect companion for desserts and cakes. With Colombian coffee, you don't need to go to a coffee bar to enjoy the fragrant atmosphere it brings. Whether as simple black coffee or in various recipe variations using Colombian coffee, both are excellent choices.

Colombia has a famous green coffee competition - the Cup of Excellence in Cauca. The [Colombia Cauca] coffee bean from FrontStreet Coffee emerged as a standout from this competition. Brewed with 90-degree water, it carries a pleasant plum-like acidity, with noticeable overall sweet and sour sensations.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online shop services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473