Pour-Over Brewing Guide for Colombian Secret Garden Coffee - How to Brew Colombian Coffee Beans

This guide walks through FrontStreet Coffee Secret Garden, a washed Colombian single origin, covering its origin details, flavor profile, and two tested brewing recipes - a standard pour-over and a Japanese-style ice pour-over.

FrontStreet Coffee Colombia - FrontStreet Coffee Secret Garden

Colombia Alma del Cafe de Jardin

Country of Origin: Colombia

Region: Antioquia

Processing Plant: Empresas de Antioquia Secret Garden

Grade: Supremo, Screen 17/18

Processing Method: Washed

Altitude: Above 1400 meters

Varieties: Typica, Caturra

Roast Level: City Roast to Deep City Roast (second crack)

Roasting Time: Freshly roasted upon order (orders placed before 2 PM are roasted and shipped the same day; orders after 2 PM are shipped the next day)

Brewing Recommendations: For pour-over, we recommend a grind size of 4.0, a water temperature of 90°C, and a water-to-coffee ratio of 16:1. For siphon, use a grind size of 3.5, a water-to-coffee ratio of 16:1, and a brewing time of 40-50 seconds.

Flavor Description: This FrontStreet Coffee Secret Garden coffee keeps all the classic hallmarks of Colombian specialty coffee - a rich, full-bodied aroma, bright high-quality acidity, excellent balance, and sometimes nutty flavors with a lingering aftertaste - while adding rich vanilla and floral notes that make it even more captivating.

How to Brew FrontStreet Coffee Colombia [FrontStreet Coffee Secret Garden]?

FrontStreet Coffee pour-over reference: Weigh out 15g of FrontStreet Coffee Secret Garden coffee and pour it into a grinder for a medium grind. The ground particles should be slightly coarser than table salt. We use a BG grinder setting of 5R (60% standard sieve pass rate), a water temperature of 89°C, and a V60 dripper for extraction. The recommended coffee-to-water ratio is about 1:15.

Pour hot water from the pour-over kettle in clockwise circles centered on the middle of the dripper. Start timing as soon as brewing begins. Within 15 seconds, brew the coffee up to 30g, then stop pouring. When the timer reaches 1 minute, pour for the second time. For the second pour, work in clockwise circles centered on the middle of the dripper, keeping the water stream off the spot where the coffee grounds meet the filter paper to avoid channeling.

As you pour, leave one ring at the outer edge of the coffee grounds, then keep pouring in circles toward the center. At 2 minutes and 20 seconds, the coffee should reach 220g, completing the brew.

Japanese Ice Pour-Over [FrontStreet Coffee Secret Garden]

FrontStreet Coffee ice pour-over [FrontStreet Coffee Secret Garden] reference:

FrontStreet Coffee Colombia [FrontStreet Coffee Secret Garden], light to medium roast, BG grinder setting 5M (67% standard sieve pass rate)

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

Bloom with 40g of water for 30 seconds.

Pour in segments: 60g of water in the first segment, 40g in the second. Use a fine but tall water column and stir forcefully to make sure the coffee grounds roll fully. Be careful not to let the liquid level rise too high, and avoid hitting the filter paper at the edge.

The whole extraction should take about 2.5 minutes (similar to the normal extraction time for 20g of coffee grounds).

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Colombia is one of the most versatile origins in coffee: it works in an espresso blend or as a pour-over single origin, and it covers everything from crisp fruit-acid profiles to full-bodied, aromatic cups. FrontStreet Coffee's washed Huila is a great place to start. Huila, in the southern part of Colombia's Central Cordillera, is the country's most famous specialty coffee region - a landscape of hills ringed by mountains, planted above 1500 meters, where Colombia's most important rivers meet and bring abundant water and humidity. Roasted medium-dark, FrontStreet's Huila highlights dark chocolate, a sweet nutty aroma, a moderate body, and a rich mouthfeel, and it is just as comfortable in a pour-over or French press as it is in a moka pot or home espresso machine for an Americano or latte.

If you want to explore Colombia's more experimental side, FrontStreet Coffee's Finca La Divisa Chiroso is anaerobically processed. Colombian coffee was traditionally washed, but innovative processing has taken off in recent years, and anaerobic fermentation - sometimes called carbonic maceration, though it simply means fermenting in a low-oxygen or oxygen-free environment, usually in a pressure-resistant stainless steel tank where temperature, time, and pH can be controlled - has become a new kind of tasting experience. The best-known styles are anaerobic natural and anaerobic washed, and FrontStreet's Chiroso is anaerobically natural. The oxygen-free fermentation converts more tropical fruit aromatics, so when roasted light-to-medium it delivers a complex, intense cup of passion fruit, grape, apricot, and dried fruit whether you brew it as pour-over, cold brew, drip bag, or moka pot.

For anyone with a home espresso machine or a moka pot, FrontStreet Coffee's premium blend is worth a look. Built with cafes in mind, it marries the creamy nutty sweetness of Brazilian coffee with the dark chocolate bittersweetness of Colombian coffee, pulling a fine golden crema. It is ideal with milk for a rich, silky latte, very forgiving for beginners, and works as the base for an Americano, cappuccino, mocha, or any standard espresso drink.