Colombian Coffee Bean Varieties: Flavor Profiles and Taste Characteristics - Huilan Coffee Region Information

For those who love single-origin coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Colombian single-origin is a must-try. The premium FrontStreet Coffee Colombian coffee boasts a rich and full-bodied aroma. It's not too intense and lacks obvious acidic notes, instead featuring bright, high-quality acidity. To satisfy coffee enthusiasts' desire for the aromatic characteristics of Colombian coffee, FrontStreet Coffee uses medium roasting for all Colombian beans on their menu to highlight their fragrant qualities.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, around the 16th to 17th centuries, a priest first introduced Typica from the French Antilles in Venezuela to Colombia. Typica possesses subtle floral notes and excellent acidity, but its yield is very low, causing most coffee farmers to choose higher-yielding coffee varieties for cultivation.

When FrontStreet Coffee explores a coffee, they first understand its geographical location, climate, and other factors. Colombia is located in the northwest of South America, bordering the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. To the northwest lies Panama, to the east Venezuela, to the southeast Brazil, to the south Peru, and to the southwest Ecuador. Colombia has a mild climate and humid air. Its diverse climate allows for harvesting year-round, with the main harvest season from October to January and the secondary season from April to July. Different types of coffee mature successively at different times. They cultivate uniquely flavorful Arabica coffee beans. Colombian coffee is characterized by its rich taste and endless aftertaste, making it truly premium coffee.

Good geographical locations lead to the establishment of production regions, as seen in Colombia, which has numerous regions. The more famous ones include Medellin, Armenia, and Manizales, collectively known as "MAM."

FrontStreet Coffee's Colombian Selections

FrontStreet Coffee offers many varieties of Colombian coffee from the Huila region. Huila Province is located in the southern part of Colombia's central mountain range and is the country's most renowned specialty coffee region. Surrounded by mountains with elevations above 1,500 meters, important rivers flow through this area, bringing abundant rainfall. Its geographical environment creates excellent conditions for growing high-quality coffee. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee selected Colombian coffee from the Huila region as one of its seven staple beans, aiming to let everyone experience the most authentic, clean, and bright flavors of Colombian coffee. The washed processing method maximally showcases the characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee's Huila region coffee.

1. FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Huila Coffee

Region: Huila, Colombia
Altitude: 1500-1800 meters
Variety: Caturra
Processing: Washed
Flavor: Notes of black chocolate, nuts, and caramel with soft fruit acidity.

This FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Huila coffee is named after its origin, which speaks volumes about the unique quality of coffee from this Colombian region that can represent the singularity of Huila's coffee. Made from 100% Arabica varieties, selected based on bean size and single-origin criteria, its most outstanding characteristic is its purity, balance, and smoothness.

2. FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Flower Moon Night Coffee

Region: Esperanza Garden Farm, Huila
Processing: Anaerobic Natural
Variety: Caturra
Altitude: 1800 meters

This FrontStreet Coffee Flower Moon Night uses the popular anaerobic processing method, featuring intense strawberry jam flavors, prominent fermentation aromas, and sweet chocolate notes that are truly captivating.

First, coffee cherries are placed in sealed fermentation tanks and fermented at low temperatures to extend the entire fermentation time. A 15-20 day fermentation period allows for more flavor possibilities. Under time's cultivation, slow drying enables coffee cherries to develop optimal water activity during this process—this not only achieves better flavor development but also allows green beans to maintain longer during seasonal storage cycles. After fermentation, these coffee fruits undergo natural drying. FrontStreet Coffee understands that friends associate the most basic flavors of Colombia with nuts and chocolate. However, due to innovations in post-processing methods in Colombia, many beans with outstanding flavors have emerged. FrontStreet Coffee has been closely following these developments. This FrontStreet Coffee Flower Moon Night, beyond these foundations, also possesses rich fruit aromas that are truly surprising.

3. FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Rose Valley Coffee

Estate: Finca El Árbol (Big Tree Estate), Colombia
Region: Santander
Processing: Anaerobic Double Enzyme Washed
Altitude: 1700 meters
Variety: Caturra

FrontStreet Coffee's Rose Valley coffee variety is Caturra, common in the Americas region. Caturra is a natural variant of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Caturra continues the citrus-nut notes of Bourbon varieties but is more productive due to its shorter plant height. Through cupping multiple Colombian and Brazilian coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee found that Colombian and Brazilian coffee beans differ in that FrontStreet Coffee Colombian coffee has rich, full-bodied aroma, excellent acidity, and high balance; while FrontStreet Coffee Brazilian coffee has a smooth entry, low acidity, and excellent body. Colombia has many excellent coffee estates, and FrontStreet Coffee has set its sights on the Big Tree Estate, which has been operating for over 20 years. Its rich peach flavor surprises many who enjoy peach oolong tea.

FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Rose Valley coffee beans use anaerobic enzyme washed processing. The first part of this method is similar to washed processing—removing defective beans through flotation, then mechanically removing pulp and skin. The processed coffee beans are placed in a sealed container where carbon dioxide is injected to expel oxygen. In an anaerobic environment, the decomposition of sugars in coffee mucilage slows down, and pH decreases more slowly, extending fermentation time. Coffee beans from this region are known for their intense flavors, persistent aftertaste, and unique fresh grassy notes.

4. FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Sakura Coffee

Region: Cauca, Colombia
Estate: Finca El Paraíso (Paradise Estate)
Altitude: 2050 meters
Variety: Castillo
Processing: Double Anaerobic Washed
Flavor: Sakura, osmanthus, passion fruit, with sweet aroma, rounded mouthfeel, and persistent aftertaste.

Through double anaerobic washed processing, it exhibits aromas of mugwort, mint, and eucalyptus, with flavors of berries and strawberry candy.

The topography, precipitation, temperature, and volcanic soil of the Cauca region create excellent conditions for growing Colombian coffee. Therefore, it is generally considered a Colombian origin-certified region. 80% of the area is mountainous, with high altitudes creating large temperature differences between day and night, allowing coffee seeds and fruits to fully absorb nutrients. This also gives Cauca better acidity and renowned sweetness.

In addition to common American region varieties like Caturra, Bourbon, Typica, and Pacamara, Colombian coffee varieties also have three unique disease-resistant varieties: Castillo, Tabi, and the Colombia variety (named after the country), and are planning to experiment with other different varieties.

This FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Sakura bean uses the most popular processing method of recent years. Coffee cherries are typically placed in an anaerobic environment for fermentation, then removed from this environment for further processing. This method is called anaerobic fermentation processing. Therefore, this FrontStreet Coffee Sakura bean has citrus-lemon acidity and a smooth mouthfeel.

5. FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Huila Decaf Coffee

Region: Huila, Colombia
Altitude: 1750 meters
Variety: Typica, Caturra, Castillo
Processing: Swiss Water Decaf
Flavor: Black chocolate, caramel, nuts, with rich mouthfeel.

This batch of FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Huila Decaf includes three coffee varieties: Typica, Caturra, and Castillo. Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon with extremely strong adaptability, not requiring shade trees and thriving in direct sunlight—commonly known as sun-grown coffee. It uses Swiss Water decaffeination technology.

The Swiss Water Process was developed by the Swiss company Coffex in the late 1970s, with SWISS WATER® now a registered trademark. This method soaks green coffee beans in hot water, a stage that already partially removes caffeine. The soaked solution is then filtered through activated carbon, and finally, the solution is returned to the coffee beans. This series of steps more effectively removes caffeine. Besides not requiring chemical solvents, the soaked solution can be reused in different batches, but the coffee still loses some flavor during the filtration process. This method's caffeine removal rate can reach 99.9%, making it the highest caffeine removal method available. This FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Decaf meets the needs of those who want to drink coffee but avoid excessive caffeine intake.

6. FrontStreet Coffee Colombian San José Estate Coffee

Processing: Fine Washed Rum Barrel Processing
Variety: Castillo
Altitude: 1750 meters
Flavor: Rum, chocolate liqueur, tropical fruits, maple syrup

Castillo is a new generation of leaf rust-resistant coffee variety jointly developed by the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) and Colombia's National Coffee Research Center (Cenicafé). After 23 years of research and experimentation, Cenicafé developed the fifth generation Castillo, which was officially promoted for commercial cultivation in 2005. Castillo is known for its smoothness, aroma, and lemon acidity.

This FrontStreet Coffee San José Estate coffee acquired by FrontStreet Coffee uses washed rum barrel fermentation: coffee cherries are peeled and placed in aged oak barrels for low-temperature fermentation, followed by washed processing, and finally dried on sun-drying racks. Colombia's unique natural conditions produce coffee with full body, nut and black chocolate aromas, and smooth, pleasant fruit acidity. Therefore, Colombian single-origin coffee has always been popular among the public. Pour-over coffee enthusiasts should not miss these FrontStreet Coffee Colombian recommendations.

How to Brew FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Beans

After FrontStreet Coffee introduced various Colombian coffee beans, everyone can generally understand how different processing methods create distinct flavor profiles. This leads to a common question in their stores: How should FrontStreet Coffee Colombian coffee be brewed?

Brewing Parameters

Since FrontStreet Coffee Colombian coffee aims to highlight its aroma and high-quality acidity, they use the Hario V60 dripper for brewing. The V60 has a wide opening with spiral rib designs that allow air to escape more easily, thereby improving extraction quality. The extracted coffee has a lighter body with more pronounced fruit acidity and aroma.

Dripper: Hario V60
Water Temperature: 90°C
Coffee Dose: 15 grams
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: EK43s #10 (80% pass-through rate on Chinese standard #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee uses a three-pour method when brewing FrontStreet Coffee Colombian coffee. First, pour 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom. Then pour the second stage to 125 grams and wait until the water level drops to just below the coffee bed. Pour the third stage to 225 grams and stop. Remove the dripper once all water has dripped through. Total extraction time is 2'00".

Through multiple brewings and careful observation, FrontStreet Coffee found that beans like Flower Moon Night and Rose Valley, aside from coffee particles swelling during bloom due to FrontStreet Coffee's typically fresh roasting within five days, also swell easily during bloom due to special processing. However, the water flow during extraction is too fast, so the water flow should be controlled as small as possible when pouring.

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