How High is Colombian Coffee Cultivation Altitude? How Does Cultivation Altitude Affect Coffee Bean Quality?

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange | More Coffee Bean Information | Please Follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat Public Account: cafe_style)

How High is the Growing Altitude of Colombian Coffee? How Does Growing Altitude Affect Coffee Bean Quality?

Colombian coffee trees are mainly cultivated in the Andes mountains, where the temperature is around eighteen degrees Celsius year-round, on steep slopes at an altitude of about 1,300 meters. The latitude, altitude, soil, botanical origin of species, and coffee varieties in Colombia's coffee-growing regions are extremely suitable for coffee growth. The climate is mild, the air is humid, and harvesting can occur year-round regardless of season. Therefore, the pure flavor of Colombian coffee comes from Colombia's natural environment, which possesses the most favorable conditions for coffee growth. Countries such as Colombia, Kenya, and Ethiopia are located near the equator, within ten degrees of latitude, allowing for higher altitude cultivation of extremely hard beans, approximately between 3,600 feet (about 1,100 meters) and 6,300 feet (about 2,000 meters). Due to abundant rainfall, harvesting can occur twice a year. Additionally, production areas like southern Brazil, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Jamaica, and Yunnan are slightly farther from the equator, between fifteen to twenty-four degrees latitude, belonging to the subtropical zone. Altitude doesn't need to be too high—approximately 1,800 feet (550 meters) to 3,600 feet (1,100 meters) is sufficient to grow hard beans. However, this region has distinct dry and wet seasons, allowing only one harvest per year.

Coffee grown at higher altitudes contains more acidic aromatic compounds, but has lower oil concentration than low-altitude coffee. These two factors make high-altitude coffee more acidic. This can be demonstrated by Guatemala's eight major production regions, with Huehuetenango (located in the northwestern part of the country bordering Mexico) and Fraijanes (located in the southeast bordering El Salvador) having the highest altitudes at about 2,000 meters. The acidity of coffee from these two regions is significantly higher than the other six regions, including Antigua. Additionally, for every 100 meters increase in altitude, temperature decreases by 0.6 degrees Celsius. Research has also found that for every 300 meters increase in altitude, the sucrose content of coffee beans increases by 10%. In principle, higher levels of acidic aromatic compounds and sucrose content result in more aromatic and mellow coffee. This is because higher altitudes mean lower temperatures and greater day-night temperature differences, which can slow down coffee growth and allow more nutrients to accumulate.

Shade trees also help cultivate the acidity and aroma of coffee because tree shade can block the intense midday sun, preventing coffee trees from growing in high-temperature environments. This prevents metabolism from being too fast and helps develop nutrients and aromatic compounds. Therefore, Bourbon and Typica varieties in lower altitude regions must be planted with shade trees to enhance the fruity acidity of coffee. Some production regions below 1,000 meters altitude produce coffee with elegant acidity, with Hawaiian Kona being one example. This is because Kona Island is farther from the equator, at about twenty degrees latitude, belonging to the subtropical zone where sunlight is not as strong as in tropical regions. More importantly, in the afternoons on the Big Island of Hawaii, winds bring clouds, creating the effect of shade trees. Thick clouds timely cool down the coffee trees, reducing metabolism and making significant contributions. In short, high altitude (but not causing frost in winter) and shade trees slow down coffee growth, giving it ample time to develop aromatic compounds. Coffee from such ecosystems has noticeable sweetness and acidic aromas.

Bean size is positively correlated with altitude—higher altitudes more easily produce full-bodied beans. Therefore, some origins prefer to grade beans by size rather than hardness. However, bean size is related to variety, and size is not the best grading standard.

The caffeine content of Arabica is positively correlated with growing altitude—for every 300 meters increase in altitude, caffeine content increases by 10%. The caffeine content of coffee from Guatemala's 1,400-meter altitude regions is obviously about 10% higher than that from 1,100 meters. Conversely, chlorogenic acid is inversely proportional to altitude—for every 300 meters increase, coffee's chlorogenic acid decreases by 5%, which may be related to the coffee's disease and pest resistance system; the lower the altitude, the more susceptible to disease, so the higher the chlorogenic acid content. Chlorogenic acid is also one of the main culprits behind coffee's bitterness and harsh acidity, explaining why coffee from lower altitudes has less elegant acidic aromas. Coffee trees boast the highest chlorogenic acid content in the plant kingdom—just the chlorogenic acid stored in coffee beans accounts for 6-8% of Arabica bean weight, with lowland Robusta beans reaching over 10%. The chlorogenic acid content of coffee trees increases with environmental deterioration, such as high temperatures, dryness, and pests, making plants feel greater survival pressure, resulting in higher chlorogenic acid content. However, this organic acid is one of the plant's effective weapons against diseases and pests. This is interesting. The more coffee farmers neglect coffee trees or the harsher the growing environment, the higher the chlorogenic acid content in the resulting coffee beans, leading to more astringent and bitter flavors, as if coffee has its own spirit: "If you don't take good care of me, I'll give you bitter coffee to drink!" Conversely, carefully cultivated coffee estates with suitable water and soil, large day-night temperature differences, pervasive fog, and surrounding shade trees... catering to Arabica trees in this way allows them to grow without worry, resulting in relatively lower chlorogenic acid concentration and easily producing delicious coffee with charming sweetness and acidity and abundant fruit aromas. Therefore, the amount of chlorogenic acid can also determine coffee's "terroir," which is particularly important for specialty coffee.

Colombian coffee is a soft coffee variety that is acidic with sweetness, low in bitterness, nutritious, and has unique acidity and mellow flavor. The acid, bitter, and sweet flavors of Colombian premium coffee are perfectly balanced. The most distinctive feature of Colombian premium is its aroma—rich and thick, with bright high-quality acidity, high balance, and an endless aftertaste. The aroma of Colombian premium is rich and thick, with bright high-quality acidity, high balance, sometimes with nutty flavors, leaving an endless aftertaste.

Bean size is closely related to variety and growing environment. Research has found that 80% of Typica beans are 17 mesh or wider—that is, 6.75 millimeters or more—but only 65% of Bourbon beans reach this standard. The bean sizes of major specialty coffee varieties rank as follows: Typica > Caturra > Catuai. However, it's important to note that variety is not the only factor determining bean size—soil nutrients, environmental stress, and planting density also directly affect bean size. If the growing environment is poor, even Typica beans will shrink to below 15 mesh. Coffee trees with insufficient nutrients easily produce low-density floaters and defective beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method:

Pour-over Reference

Use a Key filter cup, 16 grams of coffee powder with 32 grams of water for a 30-second bloom, extract with water temperature of 89-90 degrees Celsius, at a 1:15 ratio, medium-fine grind with Fuji 3.5. For the second pour, add water to 110ml then pause. Wait for the water level to drop before slowly adding more water at a uniform speed, keeping the water level not too high. Add water again to 233ml then stop. Extraction time: 2 minutes 15 seconds—resulting in rich natural sweetness. Everyone can make fine adjustments according to their own taste preferences.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473