What is the Pour-Over Ratio for Colombian Coffee? Introduction to the Flavor Characteristics of Colombian Pour-Over Coffee

When searching for Colombian coffee, you might have noticed the logo featuring a bearded man with his little mule. This is actually the trademark for "Colombian Coffee." It consists of a triangular background, a mule, and a man wearing a straw hat. Because the mountain roads in Colombia's coffee-growing regions are quite rugged, mules are used to transport coffee beans. The image of the bearded man also represents the most common attire of Colombian people.

Why is Colombian Coffee So Famous?

Colombia is loved by people around the world largely because the coffee beans processed here have a delicate acidity while possessing the rich body of dark chocolate/roasted nuts and a distinct caramel-like sweetness. It's a coffee bean with unique acidity and richness, where the three flavors of sour, bitter, and sweet are perfectly balanced.

Due to its balanced flavor profile, Colombian coffee beans are widely used in espresso blends. Whether as single-origin beans or in blends, Colombian coffee beans of different roast levels each possess their own characteristics—be it caramel, chocolate, or versatile acidity.

Colombian Coffee Growing Environment

Coffee cultivation is mainly concentrated along the western Andes Mountains, with three high mountain ranges running from south to north. The country boasts rich and diverse ecosystems, with different forests, grasslands, rivers, and lakes beneath each mountain forming various climate characteristics. The volcanic ash soil that has evolved over millions of years has created ideal conditions for coffee cultivation. Coffee trees are mostly distributed on sloped highlands, where the surrounding clouds and low-temperature environment at high altitudes allow coffee cherries to retain more sugar, producing coffee with rich flavors and sweetness.

Premium Colombian coffee beans primarily come from the southern regions, grown at altitudes above 1500m. This includes the Huila region, Cauca region, Narino region, and Tolima region. Through cupping comparisons, FrontStreet Coffee has found that coffee from these regions all features delicate fruity acidity and berry-like sweetness, with caramel aroma and abundant sweetness.

Colombian Coffee Grading System

Colombia's grading method is based on the size of green coffee beans. Colombia's National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC) is quite remarkable—it's an association that guides and helps coffee farmers sell and promote their coffee. Therefore, when we see all Colombian green beans, whether in burlap bags or cardboard boxes, we'll always find the FNC (Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia) mark.

Packaged green coffee beans are typically sorted using fixed-size screens with different mesh sizes corresponding to different hole sizes. For example, if the mesh is 17 screen size, beans larger than this size cannot pass through the screen. Therefore, the larger the screen number, the larger the bean particles that remain on the screen.

After sorting by size, coffee beans are picked to remove defective beans and foreign objects, then evaluated based on defect rates and cupping tests. In defect rate grading, Colombia has specific standards, mainly divided into two categories: Category I defects and Category II defects.

Category I defects (defects affecting cupping characteristics): black, moldy, or sour/rotten flavors. Maximum allowable defect value: 12. Category II defects (defects affecting appearance): discoloration (old, faded, yellowish, variegated), damaged beans, broken beans, crushed beans, cut beans, insect-damaged, deformed, immature, grayish or soft, etc. Maximum allowable defect value: 60. Points are deducted based on the number of defects, and the final score determines three grades: AA grade, A grade, G grade.

Each farmer reports a serial number and records green bean information, facilitating future traceability of green beans. Colombian exported green coffee bean names typically follow the format: country + region + grade + other information. For example, the green beans for FrontStreet Coffee's Huila daily coffee are: Colombia Huila Supremo SC17/18 FNC.

Colombian Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Most Colombian coffee uses washed processing, and specialty coffees are mostly produced on small to medium-sized self-operated farms. Compared to Brazil's large-scale cultivation, small farms typically produce higher quality coffee.

Additionally, the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, abbreviated as FNC) has specially promoted specialty coffee projects that must pass strict quality control to be exported! In recent years, many special processing methods have also originated from Colombia, including barrel fermentation, anaerobic fermentation, etc. Colombian coffee continues to create innovations and bring progress in the specialty coffee world.

The washed processing method involves pouring harvested coffee cherries into large water tanks. Underdeveloped inferior beans will float to the surface, while mature, full fruits will sink to the bottom. At this point, the defective beans (cherries) floating on the surface are removed. Then a pulp remover is used to remove the outer skin and pulp of the coffee fruit. At this point, the coffee beans still have a slippery layer of mucilage attached. The coffee beans with mucilage are placed in fermentation tanks for 16-36 hours, during which microorganisms decompose the mucilage.

After fermentation is complete, the decomposed mucilage is cleaned with clear water, then the coffee beans are dried while still wrapped in their parchment layer. FrontStreet Coffee believes that only the washed processing method can best reflect the quality of a coffee, directly showcasing the clean taste and pure flavors of coffee. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee has selected a Caturra coffee from the Huila region as an entry-level selection/daily coffee, allowing every coffee enthusiast to experience Colombian regional flavors at a high cost-performance ratio.

Colombian Coffee Bean Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee currently sells 4 specialty coffee beans from Colombian regions—3 from the Huila region and 1 from the Cauca region. To preserve the gentle acidity and caramelized sweetness of Colombian regional coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee uses medium roasting for all, while extending the time from yellowing to first crack to allow the coffee beans to develop better sweetness.

To ensure everyone experiences the most complete coffee flavors and aromas, all coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee are shipped within 5 days of roasting—100% fresh roasted.

FrontStreet Coffee - Colombian Huila Coffee Beans

Region: Huila
Altitude: 1500-1800 meters
Processing: Washed
Variety: Caturra
Flavor Profile: Gentle fruit acidity, nuts, chocolate, caramel

FrontStreet Coffee - Colombian Flower Seeing Coffee Beans

Region: Huila, Montblanc Estate
Altitude: 1900 meters
Processing: Washed
Variety: Caturra, Catuai, Geisha
Flavor Profile: Pink pepper, chamomile, woro citrus, honey, almond

FrontStreet Coffee - Colombian Flower Moon Night Coffee Beans

Region: Huila
Altitude: 1800 meters
Processing: Anaerobic Natural
Variety: Caturra
Flavor Profile: Strawberry jam, fermented wine aroma, chocolate

FrontStreet Coffee - Colombian Sakura Coffee Beans

Region: Cauca, Paradise Estate
Altitude: 2050 meters
Processing: Double Anaerobic Washed
Variety: Castillo
Flavor Profile: Mugwort, berries, fermented aroma, spices, strawberry jam

Rose Valley and Flower Moon Night both belong to the floral-fruity sweet and sour category, while also possessing rich fermented aromas. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters use medium roasting. The Huila daily coffee beans aim to highlight the nutty sweetness, so FrontStreet Coffee chooses medium roasting.

For how to brew a good cup of coffee, FrontStreet Coffee believes that freshly roasted coffee beans are the primary condition. The aroma of coffee beans changes according to the storage environment and time. Once past the optimal tasting period, the coffee's aroma will rapidly dissipate. FrontStreet Coffee understands how important coffee freshness is, so all shipped coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days, so when we receive them, they're just right for opening and brewing.

Dripper: V60
Water Temperature: 90-91°C
Grind Size: 80% pass-through rate with #20 standard sieve
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Coffee Amount: 15 grams

Pour the coffee grounds into the V60 dripper, use twice the amount of water to wet the coffee bed, forming a dome and let it bloom for 30s. Then use a small water flow to pour in circles from inside to out to 125g for the first segment. Wait until the coffee bed drops to half the dripper's height, then continue with the same fine water flow for the third segment to 225g. Remove the dripper once all coffee liquid has filtered through, taking about 2 minutes total.

When tasting these coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee found that different regions and processing methods affect the flavor of the coffee beans. The washed-processed Colombian Huila daily beans have distinct chocolate and nutty aromas, caramel wet aroma, and恰到好处的gentle fruit acidity, with overall balance. The anaerobic enzyme-washed Rose Valley presents sweet rose notes, then reveals liquor-filled chocolate on the palate, and as the temperature drops, you can taste the sweet and sour of dried cranberries. The anaerobic natural Flower Moon Night presents more of the refreshing sweetness of honeydew melon, rich strawberry jam, fermented fruit aromas, and finally a chocolate aftertaste, with rich mouthfeel.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473