What Are the Characteristics of South American Coffee Beans? How Do Colombian Coffee Beans Achieve High Balance?

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Colombian Coffee

Stretching from Alaska in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south, the Cordillera mountain range runs along the western edge of the North and South American continents for 15,000 kilometers, making it the longest folded mountain system in the world. Its North American section is the familiar Rocky Mountains, home to world-class destinations such as Canada's Banff National Park and America's Yellowstone National Park. Its Central and South American section is the Andes. Many coffee-producing countries in Central and South America sit along this range, Colombia among them.

The Andes, running through Colombia, divide into three great north-south ranges — the Eastern, Central and Western Cordilleras — which occupy about one-third of the country's land area, known as the western Andean region. Beyond the mountains, the eastern alluvial plains form the upper basins of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, with exceptionally abundant water.

Add the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, the Amazon River and the equator crossing the south, and Colombia enjoys an unusual concentration of natural gifts despite its modest size. Coffee grows and thrives under these conditions, and its quality is easy to imagine. A statistic from several years ago showed that of Colombia's 1,100 municipalities, 564 grow coffee, each with vastly different natural geography.

Colombia's particular growing environment allows beans to be grown and harvested throughout the year. "Heavy beans, rich in nutrients, with strong aroma" is the standard description of Colombian coffee. Colombian beans have excellent flavor and aroma, a soft, smooth taste and extremely good balance.

Colombian coffee classifies Supremo as its highest grade. Imported beans at this grade have full particles, a rich and thick aroma, bright quality acidity and excellent balance, with acid, bitter and sweet combined perfectly and a nutty taste that leaves a long finish.

Knowledge Point: coffee quality varies with altitude, latitude and soil chemistry. Growing coffee outside the right range of these factors changes the final quality significantly.

FrontStreet Coffee's Mission

In short, FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research house that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge. It shares without reservation, only to help more people fall in love with coffee, and every month it holds 3 discounted coffee events, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more drinkers to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price. That has been the mission for 6 years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Colombia uses its balance across a wide range of styles, and FrontStreet Coffee's Colombia Huila is a good place to start: grown at 1500 meters and above in the mountains south of the Central Cordillera, where the country's most important rivers converge and bring abundant water, it is roasted medium-dark to emphasize dark chocolate and nutty sweetness, moderate oil and full body. It suits pour-over and French press, and it also extracts well in a moka pot or espresso machine for Americanos and lattes.

For a more modern, fruit-driven Colombian, FrontStreet's Colombia El Divisor Papayo uses an anaerobic natural process — fermentation in a low- or no-oxygen environment with controlled temperature, time and pH — which develops ripe tropical fruit aromas. Roasted medium-light, it delivers passion fruit, grape, apricot and candied fruit in pour-over, cold brew, drip bags or a moka pot. Colombian beans also anchor FrontStreet's House Blend, where the creamy nuttiness of Brazil meets the dark-chocolate bittersweetness of Colombia for a smooth, newbie-friendly espresso that shines in milk.