Pour-Over Coffee Bean Recommendation: Balanced Flavor - Colombia

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Introduction to Colombian Coffee

When facing FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu, many beginners feel overwhelmed. Not only does FrontStreet Coffee offer a wide variety of coffees, but a larger reason is that most coffee novices don't understand the flavor characteristics of different growing regions, making it difficult to choose beans that suit them. In fact, FrontStreet Coffee previously launched a series of daily coffee beans specifically designed to let everyone enjoy the most representative regional flavors at the most affordable prices. If you've purchased FrontStreet Coffee's daily beans, you likely already have a basic understanding of the general flavor profiles of world coffee regions. For those who aren't familiar with the flavors of major coffee regions, FrontStreet Coffee will now introduce the broad flavor directions of coffee regions, starting with Colombia.

As the world's third-largest coffee producer by volume, Colombia guarantees both quantity and quality in its coffee production, which has given Colombian coffee a significant position globally. Colombia is the world's largest producer of washed Arabica and the only country that legally mandates growing only Arabica varieties. Additionally, strong support from government policies has transformed Colombia from a major heroin-producing nation into today's coffee production powerhouse.

Colombian coffee also occupies a significant portion of FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu, with varieties like Flower Moon Night, Rose Valley, San José, Sakura, Hanami, and the recently added Orange Soda—each one special and praised by customers as highly memorable coffees. Although Colombia is a major exporter of washed coffee beans, only one of FrontStreet Coffee's Colombian coffees, Hanami, is washed. This coffee is a Geisha "blend." When dry, it has distinct aromas of spices and chamomile flowers, very noticeable. The initial sip reveals very bright acidity, and FrontStreet Coffee believes the sweet-tart sensation of wo citrus is particularly prominent.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, over 563,000 families in Colombia, totaling nearly 800,000 people, are engaged in coffee cultivation, with 95% of growers farming less than 5 hectares. 60% of Colombian coffee growers cultivate less than one hectare, while those with more than 20 hectares account for only 0.5%. The total coffee cultivation area exceeds 881,000 hectares, representing 24% of the total arable land. The national average coffee cultivation area is 1.7 hectares. The country has approximately 2.7 billion coffee trees, with 66% planted using modern cultivation methods in plantations, and the remainder grown in traditionally managed small farms. Most coffee-growing families are experiencing a generational transition to "Coffee 2.0," where the younger generation, having received better education and exposure to external cultures, is updating and evolving traditional cultivation practices, becoming more open-minded.

Why are so many people engaged in coffee cultivation in Colombia? FrontStreet Coffee believes that market demand and sales channels indirectly prove that Colombian coffee beans are loved by coffee enthusiasts worldwide. The reasons for this preference are obvious: superior quality and excellent flavor.

Colombia has four treasures: flowers, gold, emeralds, and coffee. FrontStreet Coffee strongly agrees with this, as Colombia possesses a uniquely advantageous natural environment for coffee cultivation. Located in the tropics, Colombia's climate varies with altitude. The country has diverse topography, low latitude, and high altitude. Except for the relatively low altitude of Bucaramanga, most coffee is grown at 1,200-1,900 meters. The main coffee-growing areas in Colombia are distributed along the Andes Mountains, where numerous coffee trees are planted in the highlands along these mountain ranges. The mountain terraces provide diverse climates for Colombian coffee, making harvest seasons possible year-round. Different types of coffee mature successively at different times. Fortunately, unlike Brazil, Colombia doesn't need to worry about frost damage.

In Colombia, the southern eastern plains and Pacific coast have a tropical rainforest climate, while the northwest has a tropical savanna climate. Average annual temperature ranges from 15.8 to 20.5 degrees Celsius. The average temperature in coffee regions varies between 18°C and 22.5°C, with annual precipitation of 1,000-2,500 millimeters. Due to latitude variations and 86 different microclimates between production areas in southern and northern Colombia, coffee has strong regional characteristics.

The natural environment is an important reason why Colombian coffee enjoys global recognition, but besides having the most favorable natural conditions for coffee growth, the diligent efforts of local coffee farmers are also crucial. Colombian agriculture follows a small farm model. Locals plant tall trees or banana trees around coffee plants. During the seedling stage, shade structures are built for coffee trees to ensure the cool, humid environment needed for plant growth. Due to high humidity and small temperature differences in coffee forests, coffee beans mature slowly, which is beneficial for the accumulation of caffeine and aromatic compounds, resulting in better coffee quality.

Colombian Coffee Flavor Profiles

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the flavor characteristics of Colombian coffee using both daily beans and estate beans. First, let's look at Colombian Huila coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's daily coffee is selected from washed Caturra coffee beans from the Huila coffee region in Colombia. Huila Province is located in the southern part of the central mountain range in southern Colombia and is the country's most renowned specialty coffee region. This area consists of hills surrounded by mountains, with cultivation altitudes above 1,500 meters. The country's most important rivers converge here, bringing abundant water resources.

The variety of this coffee is also a key point many want to understand. Although Bourbon was the first coffee variety introduced to Colombia, the natural Bourbon mutation Caturra is also very popular in Colombia. In Colombia, Caturra is believed to account for half of the country's production. Now let's brew this coffee bean.

FrontStreet Coffee brewing parameters:
V60 dripper
Water temperature: 91°C
Water-to-coffee ratio: 1:15
Coffee amount: 15g
Grind size: (80% pass-through rate on China #20 standard sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee brewing technique: Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds. Using a small water stream, pour in a circular motion to 125g, then segment. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the bloom) Extraction time: 2'00". Colombian Huila coffee flavor description: The initial sip reveals nutty flavors with high body. It leans toward caramel sweetness, with subtle fruit acidity at lower temperatures.

In addition to daily beans, FrontStreet Coffee currently offers Flower Moon Night coffee beans from the Huila region. Although from the same region, Flower Moon Night's flavor is significantly more refined. This coffee comes from the El Diviso farm in the Huila region. The anaerobic natural processing method extends the fermentation time, allowing for more flavor possibilities. Using the same brewing technique, FrontStreet Coffee found that this coffee bean has rich floral aromas, very balanced flavors, with a strawberry jam-like mouthfeel and notes of dark cocoa in the finish. The fermented flavor is noticeable but not overpowering.

FrontStreet Coffee loves Colombian coffee beans, partly due to their excellent quality, but also because they have a complete system. This is undoubtedly beneficial for coffee farmers, as guaranteed quality attracts more green bean buyers to purchase their coffee. It is understood that the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) is Colombia's only official coffee industry guild. Since its establishment, it has become one of the world's largest agricultural non-governmental organizations. The federation represents over 540,000 coffee farming families, promoting collaboration and joint decision-making while safeguarding the interests of coffee growers and their families. The federation helps Colombian coffee growers reach necessary consensus and secure appropriate welfare for coffee farmers.

The FNC also supports different areas of coffee production, such as technology research and development, optimizing production costs, improving coffee quality, providing technical assistance and cultivation quality assurance to coffee growers through extension services, and ensuring Colombian coffee growers obtain better benefits. As Colombia's largest green bean exporter, the federation also assumes responsibility for export quality control to ensure all green coffee beans exported from Colombia meet export quality standards.

Important Notice :

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