Cauca Province, Colombia | Washed Caturra Supremo Grade from Popayan, the White City

Cauca, Colombia | Washed Caturra Supremo from Popayan, the White City

Popayan lies in southwestern Colombia and was founded in 1537; its name comes from the local indigenous people and means "two thatched huts." As the capital and largest city of Cauca Department, and with most of its buildings painted white, it has earned the romantic nickname "White City." This coffee, named after the White City, comes from the area around the Galeras Volcano near Popayan, where a mild, rainy climate and fertile land make for ideal coffee country.

Cauca is one of southwestern Colombia's key coffee regions, and this lot's main production zone sits near Galeras Volcano. Local farmers are mostly smallholders with about 3 hectares each, and they cultivate Caturra almost exclusively — believing that, compared with more disease-resistant varieties, Caturra simply tastes better.

The region also produces commercial-grade beans sold under the Popayan name; this "White City" lot is graded specialty, priced alongside Colombia's already famous Snow Cap — another smallholder quality coffee. The importer Fengrun markets it as "Popayan – Cathedral," which sounds grand, but we still prefer its English name: White City.

Coffee Bean Details

Variety: Caturra

Region: Popayan, Cauca Department

Producer: regional smallholders

Altitude: 1,800 m

Processing Method: washed (natural sun-drying or machine drying)

Grade: Supremo

Harvest Season: April – December

Flavor Notes: caramel, fruit candy, chocolate, almond, round mouthfeel

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing Method

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder at setting 3.5

Brewing Method: 1:15 water-to-coffee ratio with 15g of coffee. Pour 25g of water to bloom for 25 seconds; pour on to 120g and stop. When the bed has drained to about half, resume pouring slowly up to 225g total. Extraction time is roughly 2:00.

Analysis: the three-stage pour keeps the coffee's front, middle, and back flavors clearly separated. Because the V60's many ribs drain quickly, pausing mid-brew stretches the extraction time to compensate.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Colombia's range runs far wider than classic washed Caturra, and one of the most exciting corners of it is innovative processing — nowhere better showcased than in FrontStreet Coffee's Finca Divisora (Dividing Line Estate) Sidra. In recent years, anaerobic fermentation has swept through Colombian coffee: the cherries ferment in sealed, pressure-rated stainless tanks where temperature, time, and pH can all be controlled in a low- or zero-oxygen environment. Divisora's Sidra uses anaerobic natural processing, which coaxes out extra tropical-fruit aromatics — brewed as a pour-over, cold brew, drip bag, or even a moka pot at a medium-light roast, you'll find passion fruit, grape, apricot, and dried-fruit flavors layered into a richly aromatic cup.