How Does the Coffee Belt Shape Huila Coffee Flavor?

Colombian coffee grows along the Andes within the country's coffee belt, where altitudes between 1,000 and 2,000 meters create a subtropical climate and average growing temperatures of roughly 18°C to 22.5°C. That range explains why Colombia can deliver both smooth, full-bodied cups and beans with lively acidity and fruit aromas. The producing regions split into north, central, and south, each with its own harvest timing.

The southern specialty belt, where Huila sits, moved beyond the traditional MAM regions and now supplies many daily-drinker washed lots from family farms. Green beans are graded through the Excelso system, including UGQ, EP, and Supremo, based mainly on screen size. A medium-dark roast of these washed beans brews into a balanced cup that works well as an everyday coffee.

When people mention Colombian coffee, many picture Uncle Juan with his straw hat and mule. This article will start with Colombia's producing regions and climate conditions, outlining the three major areas—north, central, and south—and the patterns of their respective harvest seasons. It will review the development from the traditional MAM producing regions to the southern specialty belt, and focus on interpreting the Huila washed daily-drinker beans selected by Front Street—covering the local growing environment, the washed processing flow on family farms, the Excelso green bean grading system (UGQ, EP, Supremo), and other practical details. Finally, it includes a complete brewing recipe and flavor performance under a medium-dark roast to help you better understand how to choose Colombian coffee beans.

Whenever people search for Colombian coffee brands, they often see a highly recognizable logo: a kindly-looking old coffee farmer wearing a wide-brimmed white straw hat, a woolen poncho from the Andes draped over his shoulders, a leather satchel slung across his body, canvas shoes on his feet, and his loyal mule by his side—this is the famous Uncle Juan. This image appears frequently in advertisements and film and television works, bringing Colombian coffee to the world in its classic form.

Colombian coffee grows in the valleys of the Andes Mountains

Colombia's coffee belt is distributed along the Andes Mountains within the country, and the climate varies with altitude and terrain: the southern part of the eastern plains and the Pacific coast have tropical rainforest climate characteristics; the mountainous areas between 1,000 and 2,000 meters above sea level have a subtropical climate; the northwest has a tropical savanna climate. The average temperature in coffee-growing areas generally fluctuates between 18°C and 22.5°C. Because the geographical and climatic conditions differ significantly, whether you prefer a smooth body and rich flavor or beans with lively acidity and abundant fruit aromas, you can basically find your ideal choice in Colombia.

Colombia's producing regions are divided quite clearly. Due to the wide latitudinal span of the producing regions and the undulating terrain of the Andes, the country can be divided from north to south into three major regions: north, central, and south. The northern and southern ends have clear harvest season boundaries, while the central region is divided into main and secondary harvest periods depending on whether it is located farther north or south. There are two harvests throughout the year—the main harvest lasts from October to January of the following year, and the secondary harvest falls from April to July. The variable climate among the mountains makes almost the entire year a harvest season here, with various coffees ripening at different times, so farmers can be seen busy picking in the fields throughout the year.

In the last century, the most famous combination in Colombian coffee was "MAM"—the collective name for Medellín, Armenia, and Manizales. With the rise of the specialty coffee wave, a number of specialty origins emerged in the south: for example, San Agustín in Huila Department, Popayán in Cauca Department, as well as Nariño Department and Tolima Department. With extremely high altitudes and distinctive processing methods, the coffees produced in these places combine delicate acidity and fruity flavor notes, and have repeatedly achieved excellent results in Cup of Excellence competitions. After repeated cupping comparisons, Front Street finally selected washed coffee beans from Huila among many specialty producing regions, making them the flagship representative of Colombian coffee and listing them in small-package form so that everyone also has the chance to taste the classic Colombian flavor.

Huila Department is located in the southern section of Colombia's Central Cordillera and is the country's most famous specialty coffee producing region. This is a hilly area surrounded by mountains, with cultivation at altitudes above 1,500 meters. The high altitude plus suitable temperatures exactly meet the growth requirements of high-quality Arabica beans. The local soil conditions are excellent, and the country's most important rivers converge here, bringing abundant water resources and moisture. The microclimate on the canyon slopes not only blocks out cold winds, but also brings cool mountain breezes that provide a refreshing chill without high temperatures. Rainfall is also very abundant, making it truly a uniquely favored treasure land for coffee cultivation.

Traditional washed processing is the mainstream method for Colombian coffee

Colombia's producing regions have abundant water sources and are very suitable for washed processing. Farms are mostly family-run, and nearly every household is equipped with a dedicated green bean processing machine. Farmers put the freshly harvested coffee cherries into the machine, first removing the skin and pulp, after which only a very small amount of clean water is needed to remove most of the mucilage; the parchment beans still carrying a little mucilage on the surface are then transferred into a small water tank or container—sometimes just a small tiled pool—and left to ferment overnight so the remaining mucilage loosens. The next day they are rinsed clean with water and finally spread out in the sun to dry until the moisture content reaches the target level.

The washed method ensures stable coffee quality on the one hand, and on the other allows Huila coffee to show its most authentic flavor personality. This is precisely why Front Street prioritizes washed lots when selecting daily-drinker beans.

At present, Colombian green beans are graded according to screen size (bean size). Although bean size is not the key factor determining quality and flavor, many producing regions believe that plump, uniform, and large beans mean the coffee cherries have fully matured and can develop better aroma types, and that they heat more evenly during roasting, thereby forming a stable and consistent flavor.

Grading usually uses screens of fixed specifications, with different models corresponding to different hole sizes. For example, if the mesh is 17 screen, beans larger than that cannot pass through the screen—so the larger the screen number, the larger the beans retained on the screen. The three most common export grades on the market are UGQ, EP, and Supremo.

Excelso UGQ 12*60 (1.5%): UGQ stands for Usual Good Quality. This grade requires green beans to be above 14 screen, with at most 1.5% of beans allowed to fall between 12 and 14 screen (but not below 12 screen), and more than 50% of beans must be above 15 screen.

Excelso EP 12*60 (10%): EP is the abbreviation of European Preparation. Green beans of this grade must be above 15 screen, with at most 10% of beans allowed to be below 15 screen, but the lower limit must not be below 14 screen.

Excelso Supremo 12*60 (5%): Green beans of this grade require beans to be above 17 screen, with at most 5% of beans allowed to be below 17 screen, but likewise not smaller than 14 screen.

Regardless of which screen-size grade the green beans belong to, as long as they are for export they all fall under the Excelso system. In other words, most jute bags of green beans sold around the world today must be printed with the Excelso grade. In FNC's current export standard system, Excelso is the most widely used and also represents the highest grade of Colombian export green beans.

In addition, Colombia has more specification divisions: beans above 16 screen are called Extra, those larger than Supremo and reaching 18 screen or above are called Premium, and those with beans falling almost uniformly at 15 screen are called Minama, and so on. Beans that do not meet the Excelso export standard also exist in Colombia; locals label them as "Product of Colombia," generally used to produce commercial-grade instant coffee.

In Colombia, farmers need to report their own number and register green bean information to facilitate future green bean traceability. The naming of exported green beans is usually combined in the order of country, producing region, grade, and other information. For example, Front Street's Huila daily-drinker beans have the green bean name Colombia Huila Supremo SC17/18 FNC.

Front Street brewing recommendation

These Huila daily-drinker beans are washed processed, with mild acidity as well as moderate body and sweetness. Front Street wanted to brew the classic Colombian-style nutty base while retaining some acidity, so a medium-dark roast was chosen. Before any coffee bean is officially launched, Front Street arranges at least one round of cupping evaluation, through which the strengths and weaknesses of the beans can be assessed more objectively.

Because these Huila daily-drinker beans follow a medium-dark roast profile, the overall flavor is dominated by rich, full-bodied notes such as nuts and chocolate. As the roast level deepens, the bean structure becomes looser, and the water absorption capacity of the coffee grounds increases accordingly. To prevent extracting too many off-flavors, Front Street uses a medium grind. The water temperature is lowered appropriately to avoid bringing out too much burnt bitterness from this medium-dark roasted coffee, and a KONO dripper is used for extraction.

Dripper: KONO Water temperature: 88°C Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Dose: 15 grams Grind size: EK43s setting 10.5 (75% passing a No. 20 standard sieve)

Pour the coffee grounds into the V60 dripper and first wet the coffee bed with twice the amount of water as the dose. After a small dome forms on the surface, let it bloom for 30 seconds; then pour in a thin stream in circles from the inside out, pausing when the water reaches 125 grams; when the coffee bed falls back to half the height of the dripper, pour the third stage with the same thin stream until it reaches 225 grams; finally, once the coffee liquid has fully drained, remove the dripper. The whole process takes about 2 minutes.

These daily-drinker beans from Huila, Colombia, offer clear roasted aromas of chocolate, nuts, and caramel on the first sip, smooth and sweet, with just the right body and a very clean mouthfeel; after the temperature drops, you can also perceive a pleasant, soft acidity.

If you want to discuss professional coffee knowledge and get more coffee bean information, welcome to follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). If you want to buy more specialty coffee beans, you can add Front Street Coffee's personal WeChat, WeChat ID: qjcoffeex.

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