Rainforest Alliance | USDA Certified | The Flavors of Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Rainforest Alliance | USDA Certified | What is the Flavor of Colombia's Valle del Cauca?

Agricultural products certified by both the Rainforest Alliance and the USDA carry certification logos on their packaging (USDA is the mark of the United States Department of Agriculture). Coffee produced in Colombia is the most widely sold of all coffees, and Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee producer. The most significant factor is that Colombian coffee's sweet, rich and mellow taste is very appealing, and it is a coffee that is very easy to brew successfully. At home it is an afternoon beverage perfect for pairing with desserts and cakes. With Colombian coffee you do not need to go to a cafe to enjoy the aromatic atmosphere coffee brings; whether you drink it as pure black coffee or in a range of coffee recipes, it is an excellent choice.

In recent years, coffee competitions have created incentives that raise farmers' incomes, helping Colombian coffee break away from its old image of being suitable only as a base coffee. Previously, coffee was graded by bean size, but in reality that grading only represents the size of the beans and has nothing to do with quality. "Bigger beans are better" is an outdated grading system. Coffee from small-yield farms or cooperatives that grow naturally in pristine rainforest without chemical fertilizers and pesticides yields beans that are round, firm and hard, smaller and blue-green in color. That is what truly excellent Colombian coffee is.

Colombia's Valle del Cauca province is in the northwest, bordering the Pacific Ocean, where coffee is grown on the Andes Mountains at an altitude of 1700 meters. This region was among the first in Colombia to join international coffee organizations, and its cooperatives adopted fair-trade and community-responsibility ideas early. This batch of beans from Valle del Cauca, introduced by SKN CARIBECAFE Coffee Company, is certified by both the Rainforest Alliance (R.A.S) and the USDA (U.S.I.D). It is harvested only once a year, with the harvest period from October to December, using the natural water-washed method to process the beans. Defective beans are hand-screened out at a ratio of about 7%; the coffee is roasted to a light City roast with a bean weight-loss ratio of 14%, and empty shells and bad beans account for 2%.

The characteristics of excellent beans from Colombia's northern Pacific-facing region: small particles (approximately 15-16 mesh), hard coffee with a fresh tea aroma, a rounded and sweet taste, and the sweetness of cocoa with blueberry - the wonderful impression Colombian coffee has always given people.

Light Roast City (Fresh Aroma)

Because Valle del Cauca coffee grows in pristine rainforest, the beans grow more slowly and are firmer. At the light-roast stage we hope to preserve the fresh blueberry fruit aroma that differs from traditional Colombian coffee. Only coffee from northern Colombia has stronger, brighter and cleaner acidity, which best expresses Valle del Cauca's unique and distinctive style. After grinding there is a grain aroma of wheat and rice straw. After brewing it gives off a special blueberry fruit aroma that cannot be found in other coffees. There is a bright dark plum acidity on both cheeks that quickly transitions from sour to sweet, with a clean, bright and thin mouthfeel - the strong point of recent northern Colombian coffees. The aftertaste gives off tea and wheat-tea aromas. The overall style is close to Costa Rican coffee, but you can clearly find the difference in the aroma. Perhaps it can be called the Colombian style.

Dark Roast (General C)

In a dark roast, Colombian coffee can present two flavors: 1. a maple-like smoothness primarily with sweetness; 2. a caramel macchiato-like richness. Before roasting you can sketch out in your mind the style you want to achieve.

The aroma of hazelnut and raisin, with toffee that should not be too strong, creates a balanced mouthfeel with smoothness. Leaving the sweetness of cantaloupe to the end creates a wonderful fruity sweetness. Colombia's strong, overflowing hazelnut aroma is unique. The variations created by this roast differ only in subtle details at the end; as you savor it slowly, you can feel those nuances.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing:

Filter cup: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90 degrees

Grind size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing method: water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15 g of coffee, first pour with 25 g of water and let it bloom for 25 s, second pour to 120 g then stop, wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half before pouring again, slowly pour until reaching 225 g, extraction time around 2:00

Analysis: using a three-stage brewing method to clearly define the front, middle and end flavors of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains water faster, stopping the pour can extend the extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Colombia works across a wide range of uses - in espresso blends, as a pour-over single origin, and in fruit-acid, full-bodied or aroma-led styles alike. To get to know the origin, FrontStreet Colombia Huila comes from the province in the southern part of Colombia's central range, one of the country's most famous specialty regions. Surrounded by hills at growing altitudes above 1500 meters, the region benefits from abundant water and humidity. This washed Huila is roasted medium-dark, so it emphasizes dark chocolate and nutty sweetness with moderate oils and a full body, and it works not only in pour-over and French press but in moka pot and espresso machine for Americanos and lattes.

If you want to explore Colombia's newer processing methods, FrontStreet Colombia Finca La Divisa Sidra uses an anaerobic natural process. Anaerobic fermentation - sometimes called carbonic maceration - uses a pressure-resistant stainless steel tank where temperature, time and pH are controlled, and it converts the coffee into richer tropical fruit aromas. Roasted light-medium, it shows passion fruit, grape, apricot and dried-fruit notes across pour-over, cold brew, drip bags and moka pot.

And for a home espresso machine or moka pot, FrontStreet Premium Blend is a strong pick. Built for cafes, it combines the creamy nuttiness of Brazilian coffee with the dark chocolate bittersweet of Colombian coffee, pulling a fine golden crema that turns rich and smooth in a latte and works as a base for Americano, cappuccino and mocha.