How to Brew Colombian Coffee | Colombian Coffee Culture | Colombian Coffee Characteristics

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Colombia: The World's Premier Coffee Exporter

Colombia is one of the world's top-tier coffee-exporting countries, shipping millions of bags of the finest coffee beans abroad every year. But why has the world fallen so deeply in love with Colombian coffee?

Colombia is an exceptionally prolific coffee exporter, second only to the global industry giants Brazil and Vietnam. The country's coffee growers benefit from abundant natural resources, including ample altitude and an equatorial climate. Within its borders, Colombia possesses several interesting microclimates, which has made Colombian coffee synonymous with quality worldwide.

Colombian Coffee Culture

Just as visitors to Italy, France, and the United States encounter pizza, wine, and apple pie respectively, those who have traveled to Colombia find themselves literally surrounded by coffee beans. Whether on refrigerator magnets, roadside monuments, or billboards, coffee elements are everywhere in this region. It is easy to understand why — Colombia's coffee plants are virtually everywhere, so everyone is familiar with their appearance and their contribution to the nation.

Tinto

That said, one should not assume that all coffee enjoyed in Colombia is of extraordinary quality. Many of Colombia's working-class coffee drinkers consume a distinctly inferior coffee known as "tinto," brewed from commodity-grade beans and sold on the streets for just a few hundred pesos per cup (approximately 10 pence).

So why would Colombians drink such a poor product when so much excellence grows nearby? The answer lies in government regulation. To maintain Colombia's international coffee reputation, high standards are strictly enforced. Beans that do not meet national standards must be sold somewhere, so they enter the domestic market at a lower cost. This is not to say Colombians do not appreciate coffee shops — rather, an appreciation for the good stuff is only just beginning to take root.

Colombian Coffee Growing Regions

One reason Colombia has been so successful at growing the world's most popular coffee is its diverse altitudes, climates, and ecosystems. This is why the coffee cultural landscape is an important component of Colombia's exemplary biodiversity.

Colombia's coffee regions span the growing areas of Caldas, Quindio, Risaralda, and northern Valle. But the coffee belt does not get all the glory — each bean's flavor varies with its origin. Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Boyaca, and northern Tolima have conditions similar to the Coffee Cultural Landscape and harvest year-round. Coffee grown in warmer, more northern, lower-altitude areas — such as Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Perija mountains, Casanare, Santander and northern Santander — has lower acidity and a fuller body. Beans from further south in Narino, Cauca, Huila, and southern Tolima grow at higher altitudes, closer to the equator, giving them higher acidity and more desirable sweetness. In Colombia, you can essentially find a bean to suit your taste preferences.

Exceptional Colombian Coffee

Colombia hosts a famous green bean competition, the Cup of Excellence in Cauca. FrontStreet Coffee's Colombia Cauca beans emerged victorious from this competition. Brewed with 90°C water, they present a pleasant plum-like acidity, with noticeable overall sweet and sour characteristics.

FrontStreet Coffee is a roastery based in Guangzhou. Small though the shop is, its bean selection is diverse — you can find both famous and lesser-known coffees — and it also runs an online store.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy the balanced, easy-drinking style of Colombian coffee, FrontStreet's Brazilian lineup makes a natural companion. The Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a classic single origin — pulped-natural and medium roasted, with creamy peanut, toast, caramel, and hazelnut aromas, a round body, low acidity, and a light bitterness; it suits pour-over, moka pot, espresso SOE, siphon, and French press.

The Brazil Queen Estate comes from Mogiana near South Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil gives the cherries abundant nutrients. Its uncommon Yellow Bourbon — a natural mutation of Red Bourbon with cleaner fruit — shows a sugarcane sweetness found in few other regions, plus fruit and chocolate.

Brazilian beans also form the backbone of FrontStreet's espresso blends: the Classic Blend, the nut-forward Premium Blend, the balanced Black Cocoa Blend, and the shop-focused Commercial Blend all include Brazil, adding chocolate and cream aroma and a gentle sweet-sour-bitter balance that keeps extraction stable.