American Coffee Regions: Introduction to Colombian Coffee Varieties and Flavor Characteristics

FrontStreet Coffee - South American Coffee Regions: Colombian Coffee

The coffee-producing regions of the Americas are those of Central and South America; north of Mexico, almost no coffee is grown. The region's coffee lands lie mainly between the Tropic of Cancer and the equator, nearly every Central American country is a coffee producer, and Brazil, in South America, is the largest coffee-producing country on Earth.

American coffee is the most balanced of the world's three great coffee-growing regions. Flavors develop in harmony without any one overwhelming the others, yet each keeps its own distinct character. Whatever flavor you're after, you can find it among American beans — which is why many gourmands see them as the very symbol of balance.

Beyond varietal differences, American beans are almost always washed, and the process is meticulous. As a result they are noticeably larger than African beans and far more uniform in size, with fewer foreign objects mixed into the green coffee.

Colombia supplies 15% of the world's coffee and ranks as the world's third-largest coffee-producing region (and the largest producer of Arabica). The country grows high-quality Arabica with mild, balanced beans.

In 2011, UNESCO inscribed Colombia's coffee cultural landscape as a World Heritage Site, and in 2007 the European Union designated Colombia a protected coffee origin. Commercial coffee cultivation began in the early nineteenth century, and Colombian coffee is widely prized for its fruity flavors.

Colombia's famous Arabica traces its roots to Ethiopia. Because of its weaker resistance to pests and diseases, it is grown mostly at high altitudes above 1,300 meters, in refined volcanic ash soils — premium beans of first-class flavor and aroma. Sitting in the tropics, Colombia's climate shifts with terrain: the southern part of the eastern plains and the Pacific coast have a tropical rainforest climate, mountains between 1,000 and 2,000 meters have a subtropical climate, and the northwest is tropical savanna.

Colombia is the world's largest producer of washed Arabica, the second-largest Arabica producer overall, and the third-largest coffee-producing country. Annual output runs about one-third of Brazil's, some 12% of the world total, behind only Brazil and Vietnam. Unlike those two giants, however, Colombia grows almost exclusively high-end Arabica: Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai.

Knowledge extension: Colombian coffee cultivation follows the Andes from south to north, broadly divided into northern, central, and southern producing regions. The central region has both a main and a secondary harvest, while the north and south each have a single season.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For another face of South American coffee, try FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon, a classic pulped-natural Brazilian single origin. Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer, and its beans — moderate acidity, beautifully balanced sweetness, bitterness, and body — suit a medium roast perfectly, unleashing rich aromas of creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut in a round, low-acid cup with just a whisper of bitterness. It works as pour-over, and equally in a moka pot, as an espresso SOE, in a siphon, or in a French press.

For something rarer, the FrontStreet Brazil Fazenda Rainha Yellow Bourbon comes from the Mogiana region near southern Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil feeds plump, aromatic cherries. Yellow Bourbon, a mutation of Red Bourbon, cups with an unusually clean fruit character: sugarcane sweetness you'll find nowhere else, plus fruit and chocolate notes, via pour-over, moka pot, or home espresso machine.