How to Properly Brew Colombian Huila Coffee - Pour-Over Brewing Method Guide

For professional coffee knowledge and a closer look at the beans behind every cup, keep reading with FrontStreet Coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Introduction - Colombian Huila

Huila is defined by mountainous terrain, and because the coffee grows on canyon slopes it enjoys the high altitudes and mild temperatures that high-quality Arabica needs. The canyon climate keeps cold winds out while letting cool mountain air circulate without excessive heat, and rainfall is generous. It is, in every sense, a naturally gifted coffee region.

Colombian pickers also harvest the cherries by hand in the mountains, which lets them select only the ripest, plumpest fruit. Most of the coffee is then washed. After a medium roast it shows a light, silky body and sometimes a hint of acidity, quite unlike the intense profile of Brazilian coffee or Italian espresso. In Colombia it is celebrated as "green gold."

That is why Huila coffee - full-bodied with a heavier texture, nutty, chocolate and caramel aromas, and a smooth, pleasant fruit acidity - is regarded as specialty coffee. The reputation rests on superior natural geography and premium Arabica varieties, but hand-picking and careful sorting are just as essential.

FrontStreet Coffee Introduction - Colombian Huila Pour-Over Sharing

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over

Grind size: 4 (Japan Fuji R440)

Water temperature: 88°C

V60 dripper, 15g of coffee, water temperature 88°C, grind size 4, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15

28g of water for blooming, bloom time 26s

Segmented brewing: pour water to 120ml, pause, then slowly pour to 230ml

That is 28-120-80, total time 1:40

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy the balanced, mellow side of South American coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian lineup is a natural next step. As the world's largest coffee producer, Brazil grows a wide range of beans with moderate acidity and a lovely balance of sweetness, bitterness and body, which makes them ideal for medium roasting - the result is a nutty aroma and a smooth cup with a faint acidity that works equally well as a single origin or in a blend.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a classic entry point: a semi-dry Cerrado single origin and a red Bourbon from one of the country's best-known regions. Roasted medium, it brings creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel and hazelnut, with a rounded, low-acid cup and a gentle bitter finish. It brews well as pour-over but is just as happy in a moka pot, an espresso SOE or a siphon. For a rarer cup, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon comes from Mogiana, where fertile red volcanic soil helps the fruit develop intense aromas; the rare yellow Bourbon mutation is cleaner and fruitier, showing the sugarcane sweetness, fruit and chocolate notes you will not find in other regions. Brazilian beans also anchor many of FrontStreet Coffee's espresso blends - the creamy, nutty Classic Blend, the rich Premium Blend, FrontStreet Coffee's Black Cocoa Blend and FrontStreet Coffee's Commercial Blend - where they contribute chocolate and cream aromas, a soft sweet-bitter balance and stable extraction.