Where are Arabica beans from in Colombia?

Colombian coffee is known for balance, yet two beans stand out. Rose Valley from Big Tree Estate uses anaerobic double enzyme washed processing and releases peach, strawberry, and rose aromas. San Jose Estate uses low-temperature fermentation in rum barrels, giving rum, liqueur chocolate, and tropical fruit notes.

Colombian growing regions follow the Andes, with coffee areas averaging 18°C to 22.5°C. San Jose belongs to the Castillo variety, the most widely planted in Colombia. Arabica beans, including these, trace to the same species, though the country of origin and processing decide the cup.

Colombian coffee has always been known for its balance and smoothness, but on this land nourished by the Andes, there are also bold surprises with striking personality. This time, Front Street Coffee brings two Colombian beans with distinctly different styles — Rose Valley from Big Tree Estate and San Jose Estate. The former uses anaerobic double enzyme washed processing, releasing an explosive aroma of peach, strawberry and rose; the latter uses low-temperature fermentation in rum barrels, presenting rich layers of rum, liqueur chocolate and tropical fruit. This article will break down their origin backgrounds, processing methods, brewing parameters and pour-over flavor performance one by one. Whether you are a beginner just getting to know Colombian beans or a veteran looking for a flavor breakthrough, you can find an option worth trying here.

When customers ask which Front Street Colombian coffee is both delicious and uniquely distinctive, Front Street usually recommends Front Street Rose Valley and Front Street San Jose Estate.

Front Street Colombia Rose Valley coffee beans are known for their peach, strawberry and rose flavors, with extremely strong flavor impact. During the bean selection stage, Front Street immediately locked onto it among many Colombian coffees. This bean has a very clear flavor memory point and broad appeal.

Front Street San Jose Estate, introduced by FrontStreet Coffee, belongs to the Colombian Castillo variety, which is currently the most widely planted coffee variety in Colombia. The Front Street Colombia San Jose Estate coffee selected by Front Street has an obvious rum fermentation aroma, with rich tropical fruit flavors on the palate, a liqueur chocolate tone in the middle, and maple syrup-like sweetness throughout. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce these two Front Street Colombian coffees.

Colombia

Colombian coffee-producing regions are distributed along the Andes Mountains within the country, and the climate varies with the terrain. The southern eastern plains and the Pacific coast have a tropical rainforest climate, the mountainous areas at elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 meters have a subtropical climate, and the northwest has a tropical savanna climate. The average temperature in coffee-growing areas fluctuates between 18°C and 22.5°C. Influenced by differences in geography and climate, whether you prefer coffee with a round, rich mouthfeel or a lively, fruit-filled type, you can find a suitable choice in Colombia.

Colombia's producing regions have clear boundaries. Influenced by the latitudinal span of the producing regions and the terrain of the Andes, they are divided from south to north into three major areas: northern, central and southern. The difference between the northern and southern harvest seasons is obvious, while the central region has a main and secondary harvest season depending on whether it is located farther north or south. There are two harvest seasons throughout the year, with the main harvest from October to January and the secondary harvest from April to July. The diverse climatic conditions among the mountains allow harvests throughout the year, as different varieties ripen one after another at different times, so busy picking figures can be seen in the forests in every season.

In the last century, Colombian coffee was best known for the "MAM" composed of Medellin, Armenia and Manizales. With the advancement of the specialty coffee wave, many specialty coffee origins emerged in southern Colombia, including San Augustin, Huila; Popayan, Cauca; Nariño; and Tolima. Extremely high altitudes combined with distinctive processing methods give coffees from these regions refined acidity and fruity flavors, and they often achieve excellent results in Cup of Excellence competitions. After multiple cupping comparisons, Front Street selected Front Street Colombia Huila washed coffee beans from the specialty coffee regions as a representative of Colombian coffee and listed them in small-package daily-drink form, so everyone can taste the classic Colombian flavor.

Huila Province is located at the southern end of Colombia's Central Cordillera and is Colombia's most prestigious specialty coffee region. The local terrain is hilly and surrounded by mountains, with cultivation elevations above 1,500 meters, possessing the high altitude and suitable temperatures needed to grow high-quality Arabica beans. Excellent soil and the geographical advantages for coffee cultivation, together with the confluence of Colombia's most important rivers here, bring abundant water resources and moisture. The climate on the canyon slopes can block cold winds while mountain breezes bring coolness, avoiding the troubles of high temperatures, and rainfall is also very abundant. It can be said to be a uniquely favored coffee cultivation area.

Front Street Colombian producing region coffee flavor : Front Street believes that Front Street Colombian coffee bean characteristics have a balanced flavor profile, intense acidity, unique flavor characteristics, a relatively full body, and sometimes a hint of red wine, with admirable fruity flavors.

Front Street Colombia Big Tree Estate Rose Valley Coffee Beans

This Front Street Rose Valley on the Front Street bean list comes from Big Tree Estate in Colombia's Santander producing region. Santander is located in northern Colombia, bordered by the Magdalena River to the west, with cultivation elevations of about 1,400 to 1,600 meters and an area of 30,537 square kilometers. Santander is a very important but rarely mentioned department in Colombia. It was in fact the earliest region in Colombia to begin growing coffee and currently accounts for about 5% of Colombia's total coffee production. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee found that coffee beans from this region are known for strong flavor, long finish and a unique fresh herbal character.

Front Street Rose Valley coffee beans also use Big Tree Estate's signature technique — anaerobic double enzyme washed processing. This processing method adds special enzymes for a second anaerobic fermentation on the basis of anaerobic washed processing. After the coffee cherries are removed from the anaerobic environment, the skin and pulp are removed by machine, and then the coffee beans with mucilage are placed into an anaerobic environment created by plastic bags or other sealed containers for another round of anaerobic fermentation. A processing method that undergoes the above two anaerobic fermentations is called double anaerobic fermentation.

Refined Washed Rum — San Jose Estate

Colombia Finca San Jose Estate

Front Street Colombia · San Jose Estate

Region: Caldas, Colombia

Estate: San Jose Estate

Altitude: 1,750 meters

Grade: supremo

Variety: Castillo

Processing method: refined washed rum barrel fermentation processing

With a history of one hundred years, Finca San Jose Estate is located in the Nevado del Ruiz volcanic region, where the soil is rich in volcanic ash, sunlight is abundant, and the annual average temperature is between 21°C and 25°C. The estate has a total area of 18 hectares, of which 16.5 hectares are used for growing coffee. In recent years, with the rise of the specialty coffee wave, San Jose Estate has actively sought breakthroughs, hoping to forge a path of its own.

The lady owner of San Jose Estate, Monsalve Botero, has a husband who specializes in making rum oak barrels and brewing rum. One day, while she was filling distillate in preparation for fermentation, she had a flash of inspiration: if raw coffee beans were placed into oak barrels to ferment, would they produce a different flavor?

So Monsalve Botero began experimenting in 2013 with low-temperature fermentation in rum barrels for varying lengths of time, and finally found the ideal method in 2018, producing this bean through post-processing that is different from ordinary washed processing.

The coffee used to make refined washed rum barrel fermentation is selected Castillo variety of about screen size 17 and 18. After the coffee cherries are depulped, they are placed into aged oak barrels for low-temperature fermentation. After the low-temperature fermentation is completed, they undergo washed processing, and finally they are dried on raised beds. This Front Street San Jose bean is of the Castillo variety. The green beans are blue-green and smell of intense fermentation and ripe fruit aroma. This is the most widely planted coffee variety in Colombia, and its popularity comes from its good reputation for resistance to leaf rust.

Front Street Colombian Coffee Brewing Parameters

Water temperature: 91°C

Dose: 15 grams

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: fine granulated sugar coarseness (80% passing rate on China standard No. 20 sieve)

Front Street brewing method: pour 30 grams of water in the first stage for a 30-second bloom, then pour 95 grams (the electronic scale shows about 125 grams), finishing the pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to two-thirds of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100 grams (the electronic scale shows about 225 grams), finishing the pour in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Dripping is completed at about 2 minutes. Remove the dripper and the extraction is complete.

Front Street Colombia Big Tree Estate Rose Valley Coffee pour-over flavor: a stunning peach character, accompanied by the aroma of rose and liqueur chocolate, fragrant and rich, with a feeling of peach juice and rose tea on the palate. It has both the high-quality sweet-tartness of black grapes and a silky mouthfeel like cream toffee.

Front Street Colombia San Jose Estate pour-over flavor: on the palate there are flavors of rum, liqueur chocolate, tropical fruit and grape, with maple syrup sweetness.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.