How to Brew Vaquero Estate Colombian Pour-Over Coffee & Grinding Guide

Colombian Coffee

Coffee Growing Region: Caldas, El Vaquero Estate

Estate Owner: Carlos Arturo Franco

Altitude: 2000 meters

Coffee Variety: Castillo

Processing Method: Natural depulping, demucilaging, and washed processing

Roast Level: Medium roast

Optimal Flavor Profile: Grapefruit aroma with green plum, lemon, and sugarcane notes. The middle through to the aftertaste is filled with caramel and raspberry, with a medium body and a smooth, rounded mouthfeel.

How to Brew El Vaquero Estate Colombian Coffee Perfectly

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-Over Reference: Weigh 15g of El Vaquero Estate coffee grounds and grind to a medium consistency—the particles should be slightly coarser than table salt. We use BG grinder setting 5R (60% standard sieve pass rate), a water temperature of 89°C, and a V60 dripper. The recommended coffee-to-water ratio is about 1:15.

Pour the hot water from the gooseneck kettle in clockwise circles centered in the middle of the dripper. Start timing as you begin brewing. Within 15 seconds, brew to 30g, then stop pouring. When the time reaches 1 minute, begin the second pour, moving just as before in clockwise circles centered in the middle of the dripper. Avoid pouring directly onto the area where the grounds meet the filter paper, to prevent channeling.

Leave a small ring when pouring to the outer edge of the grounds, then continue circling toward the center. At 2 minutes and 20 seconds you should reach 220g total, and the brew is complete.

Japanese-Style Iced Pour-Over: El Vaquero Estate

FrontStreet Coffee Iced Pour-Over Reference for El Vaquero Estate:

Colombian El Vaquero Estate, light-medium roast, BG grinder setting 5M (67% standard sieve pass rate).

20g of coffee grounds, 150g of ice cubes, 150g of hot water. The water temperature should be 1°C higher than the normal 90°C recommendation for pour-over. On the Fuji grinder, normal pour-over uses setting 3.5, while iced pour-over uses a slightly finer setting of 3. The recommended coffee-to-(water + ice) ratio is 1:15.

Bloom with 40g of water for 30 seconds.

Segmented pouring: a first segment of 60g of water, a second segment of 40g. Use a fine but high water column to stir vigorously so the grounds tumble thoroughly. Be careful not to let the water level rise too high or to pour onto the edge filter paper.

The entire extraction time should be about 2.5 minutes—similar to the normal extraction time for 20g of grounds.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Colombian coffee is remarkably versatile, working both in espresso blends and as a single-origin pour-over. It offers fruit-acidity styles, full-bodied styles, and aroma-forward styles, so there is something to suit almost every taste. The Huila province, in the southern part of Colombia's Central Cordillera, is the country's best-known specialty region: a hilly area ringed by mountains, planted above 1,500 meters, where Colombia's most important rivers converge and bring abundant water and humidity. To get to know the region, start with FrontStreet Washed Huila, roasted medium-dark to emphasize dark chocolate, sweet nuttiness, moderate oil, and a full body. It works as pour-over or in a French press, and it also extracts well in a moka pot or espresso machine, holding up in an Americano or a latte.

Colombian coffee was traditionally washed, but recent years have brought innovative processing methods. Anaerobic fermentation is one such new taste experience, known by several names—some call it carbonic maceration—but it is essentially fermentation in a low- or no-oxygen environment, usually in a pressure-resistant stainless-steel tank where temperature, time, pH, and other data can be controlled. Its best-known forms are anaerobic natural and anaerobic washed, and FrontStreet Colombia Sidra uses the anaerobic natural method: after oxygen-free fermentation the coffee develops more tropical-fruit aroma, and when roasted medium-light it delivers a complex, intensely fragrant cup of passion fruit, grape, apricot, and dried fruit as pour-over, cold brew, drip bag, or moka pot.

For anyone with a home espresso machine or a moka pot, baristas strongly recommend FrontStreet Specialty Blend, an espresso coffee formulated for café use. It combines the creamy nuttiness of Brazilian coffee with the dark chocolate bittersweetness of Colombian coffee, and it extracts with a fine, golden crema—ideal with milk for a rich, smooth latte, and very forgiving for beginners, while also serving as the base for Americanos, cappuccinos, mochas, and other standard espresso drinks.