Where is coffee beans grown for the Huila Hanami blend?
The Front Street Colombia Geisha Blend Hanami comes from the Montblanco estate in Colombia's Huila region, grown at 1,900 meters and washed after harvest. It blends three varieties: Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai. Expect lemon, orange peel, and orange blossom aromas, a lemony black tea sweetness with tartness, and peach, strawberry, pomelo, bergamot, and honey notes over a smooth body.
Blending varieties does not disqualify the coffee as single-origin. Single-origin means beans from one producing region or estate, not from a single variety, so this lot still qualifies. Huila sits where the Central and Eastern Cordilleras of the Andes meet, and its growing area centers on Pitalito at roughly 1,750 to 1,950 meters, mostly smallholder farms whose cherries are hand-picked and carefully processed.
Front Street Colombia Geisha Blend · Hanami coffee beans come from the Montblanco estate in the Huila region, at an altitude of 1,900 meters, and are a blend of three varieties: Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai, processed by the washed method. This bean displays aromas of lemon, orange peel, and orange blossom; on the palate it has a lemony black tea-like sweet-and-tart quality, accompanied by the sweet fragrances of peach, strawberry, pomelo, bergamot, and honey. The floral note is prominent, and the mouthfeel is smooth and delicate. Although it is called a blend, it still falls within the category of single-origin coffee beans—because single-origin emphasizes the same producing region or estate, not a single variety. Below, we will take you through the unique charm of this bean from two angles: the terroir of the producing region and the background of the estate.
Front Street Colombia Geisha Blend · Hanami coffee beans
Producing region: Colombia, Huila
Estate: Montblanco Estate
Altitude: 1,900 meters
Varieties: Geisha, Caturra, Catuai
Processing method: washed process
The flavor shows aromas of lemon, orange peel, and orange blossom; in the mouth it presents a sweet-and-tart taste like lemony black tea, with the sweet, juicy aromas of peach, strawberry, pomelo, bergamot, and honey. The floral note is rich and vivid, the mouthfeel is silky, and the elegant, refined flavor is quite charming. This Front Street Colombia Hanami Geisha Blend coffee bean is made from a mix of Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai. Seeing this, some friends may wonder: is this bean still considered a single-origin coffee bean? Single-origin coffee beans mean coffee beans grown in a single (same) coffee producing region/estate, not a single-variety coffee bean, so this Geisha blend coffee bean belongs to the category of single-origin coffee beans.
Producing region introduction: Huila
The Huila Department of Colombia is located where the Central and Eastern Cordilleras of the Andes meet, in southern Colombia. Huila's coffee-growing area is centered on the city of Pitalito, with coffee cultivation at altitudes of 1,750-1,950 m, mainly under a smallholder farming model. Over the past decade, smallholder coffee farmers have worked together, and the coffee cherries are hand-picked and carefully processed, ultimately becoming specialty coffee beans that showcase the flavor of the Huila producing region. Front Street has cupped many coffee beans from the Huila producing region, and they all have aromas such as nuts and caramel as well as a soft berry-like sweet-and-tart quality.
Finca Montblanco is located on the winding mountain road of Vereda La Tocora in Pitalito. It is a coffee estate run by owner Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia, whose coffee cultivation can be traced back to his grandfather. Finca Montblanco sits on the top of a hilly mountain, with a land area of about 18 hectares. The estate has abundant water resources as well as complete washing equipment and drying equipment, so most of the coffee beans produced on the estate use the washed process, including special processing methods derived from the washed process.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.