How Does the Arabica Bean Thrive in Colombia's Huila Volcano?

Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee exporter and the leading exporter of Arabica beans, and the Huila volcanic region is one of its standout areas. There, 84 smallholder farmers formed a cooperative in 2014, growing coffee between 1,400 and 2,000 meters on mineral-rich volcanic ash soil fed by spring water from the 5,400-meter Michel Snow Peak.

The washed and sun-dried Arabica beans from Huila carry citrus, grapefruit, chocolate and fruity sweet-tart notes, and the region has produced multiple champions in Specialty Coffee Association of America cupping competitions. Colombia's three Cordillera ranges create diverse microclimates and year-round harvests, with varieties such as Castilla, Caturra, Colombia and Typica grown along the Andean highlands.

Colombia, with the diverse terroirs of the Andes Mountains, has become the world's third-largest coffee exporter and the country with the highest exports of Arabica beans. The Huila volcanic region is known for organic cultivation and fruity notes, where smallholder cooperatives at altitudes of 1,400 to 2,000 meters produce citrus, grapefruit, and chocolate-like sweet-tart flavors. This article systematically reviews Colombia's main producing regions, coffee varieties, washed processing methods, and grading system, with a focus on the Colombian beans sold by Front Street Coffee, including Rose Valley, Flower Moon Night, and Hanami Geisha Blend. Finally, it provides cupping and three-stage brewing parameters to help coffee enthusiasts gain a comprehensive understanding of Colombian coffee's charm, from flavor perception to practical extraction.

Colombia Huila Organic. Washed

Varieties: Castilla, Caturra, Colombia, Typica

Altitude: 1,400m·2,000m

Region: Colombia Huila Volcanic Region

Processing Method: Washed then sun-dried

Certifications: Organic Certification, Fair Trade

In 2014, a cooperative was established in the Huila Volcanic Region, composed of 84 smallholder coffee farmers. Clear spring water flows down from the 5,400-meter Michel Snow Peak, feeding into mineral-rich volcanic ash soil, creating ideal conditions for growing organic coffee without chemical fertilizers or pesticides in this area, with coffee trees growing between 1,400 and 2,000 meters above sea level.

The unique natural conditions of the Huila Volcanic Region have led to the region producing multiple champions in the Specialty Coffee Association of America cupping competitions in recent years, with fruity sweet-tart flavors being its core characteristic.

Reference Flavors: Citrus, Grapefruit, Chocolate, Fruity Sweet-Tart Finish

Colombia's coffee-growing geographical conditions are quite favorable, with producing regions distributed along the Andes Mountains, featuring a mild climate and humid air. Three Cordillera mountain ranges run from south to north, extending exactly to the Andes, and coffee plantations are distributed along the highlands of these mountain ranges. The terraced terrain brings diverse microclimates, and Colombia has harvest seasons year-round, with different varieties ripening at different times. In Front Street Coffee's bean lineup, several Colombian coffees are quite popular among many customers, such as a Rose Valley from Colombia's Santander region, whose strawberry and fermented notes leave a deep impression.

Colombia is located in the northwestern part of the South American continent, adjacent to Panama in Central America. In 1808, a priest first introduced coffee to Colombia from the French Antilles via Venezuela. Today, Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee exporter, mainly producing Arabica coffee beans, and is also the country that exports the most Arabica coffee beans.

Coffee Producing Region Characteristics

Colombian coffee bean producing regions are characterized by small estates, producing high-quality coffee harvested twice a year. The Andes Mountains, with an average altitude exceeding 4,000 meters, have small estates on steep slopes at about 1,000 to 3,000 meters above sea level at their foothills—these are Colombia's coffee origins. Colombia's specialty beans are mainly produced in the south, at altitudes above 1,500 meters, including San Augustin in Huila, Popayan in Cauca, Narino, and Tolima.

From north to south, Colombia's main producing regions are: Santander/North of Santander: Located in northern Colombia, bordering the Magdalena River to the west, with growing altitudes of about 1,400-1,600 meters. Coffee beans from this region are known for their strong taste, long finish, and unique fresh herbal flavor.

Antioquia: Located in central-northern Colombia, with 126,000 hectares of coffee cultivation, producing 18% of Colombia's output, second only to Huila in production. Most of the province is mountainous terrain belonging to the Andes, but it is caressed by warm Caribbean sea breezes. The provincial capital Medellin is Colombia's second-largest city and also an important coffee producing region in Colombia.

Tolima: Adjacent to Huila and Cauca, this region is traversed by the north-south running Andes Mountains and Cordillera Mountains, with the Magdalena River flowing from south to north between these two famous mountain ranges.

Huila: Located in the southern part of the Central Cordillera in southern Colombia, it is the country's most famous specialty coffee producing region. This area consists of mountain-ringed hills with growing altitudes above 1,500 meters. Colombia's most important rivers converge here, bringing abundant water resources and moisture.

Cauca: A region with Colombian Coffee Origin Certification, with an average altitude of 1,758m and maximum altitudes reaching up to 2,100m. The terrain, rainfall, temperature, and volcanic soil of this area provide suitable conditions for coffee growth. 80% is mountainous, with parallel mountain ranges in the east and center that are part of the Andes, including two major volcanoes, Sotara and Petacas, in the central range.

Narino: Bordering the Pacific Ocean to the west and Ecuador to the south, the Andes Mountains traverse this province, with many rivers flowing southward through the area. It belongs to Colombia's high-mountain coffee growing regions and has nurtured many smallholder specialty coffee producers. Narino is also the first coffee producing region in Colombia named after its origin.

Colombian coffee has a balanced flavor with a relatively smooth mouthfeel, like a gentleman among coffees—well-mannered and proper. The coffee has a rich and full-bodied aroma with bright, high-quality acidity.

Coffee Bean Grading

Colombia has over 200 grades. Colombian coffee beans are graded with Supremo as the highest grade, Excelso next, and only Supremo-grade beans of size 18/64 inches or larger can qualify as specialty coffee.

Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Colombian coffee beans are mainly processed using the washed method. Regular buyers of Front Street's daily bean series know that most of Front Street's daily bean series use the washed processing method. This is because the washed method represents the fundamental flavor of a producing region and is the starting point for understanding regional flavors. Compared to the natural method, the washed method allows for better control of coffee bean quality, mainly because washing the coffee slows down the "fermentation" process. Also, because it requires large amounts of water, countries lacking water resources generally have less washed processing.

Coffee Bean Varieties

In addition to the Caturra, Bourbon, Typica, and Pacamara commonly found in American producing regions, Colombia also has three unique disease-resistant varieties: Castillo, Tabi, and the Colombia variety sharing the country's name. There are also rare and precious varieties like Gesha, small-beaned Mocca, Rume Sudan, Eugenioides, Laurina, Maraguesa, and Pink Bourbon.

Typica

As in other regions, Typica is the coffee variety with the longest history of cultivation in Colombia. Around the late 16th to early 17th century, a priest first introduced Typica to Colombia from the French Antilles via Venezuela. Typica has excellent flavor with subtle floral notes, excellent acidity, and a full body, but due to low yields and high agronomic costs and technical requirements, most coffee farmers choose higher-yielding varieties to cultivate. Currently, only a few regions in Colombia still grow Typica. This year, Front Street Coffee cupped an anaerobic natural processed Typica from Colombia's Pearl Estate, with flavors of high-quality citrus acidity, passion fruit, and fermented aromas.

Bourbon

Bourbon is a mutation of Typica, with its most notable characteristic being rounder beans, superior acidity, and a wine-like character. In 1860, Bourbon was formally introduced to the South American continent, first to Brazil to replace the low-yielding Typica, and subsequently spread to Colombia. However, Bourbon is not widely cultivated in Colombia, with only a few regions growing it. A Pink Bourbon from Cauca's Paraiso Estate that Front Street Coffee has offered displays clear, clean, lemon and cherry tomato-like acidity, reminiscent of Kenyan coffee.

Caturra

Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon. Its advantages over Bourbon include sun tolerance (no shade trees needed), compact size (easy to harvest), and many branches (high yield). Its flavor is comparable to Bourbon. Therefore, it has become Colombia's main coffee variety. Interestingly, Caturra was discovered on a plantation in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and was further selected by the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) in São Paulo, Brazil. However, experimental cultivation results in Brazil were not ideal, but upon reaching Colombia, Caturra was immediately transformed and planted nationwide. The coffee varieties of Flower Moon Night and Rose Valley currently offered by Front Street Coffee are both Caturra.

Colombia

To combat leaf rust, Colombia's National Coffee Research Center, Cenicafé, developed a multi-generation backcrossed improved Catimor variety in 1980. Through multiple generations of evolution, its Robusta genes were further diluted. To emphasize its difference from the original Catimor and to help promote nationwide cultivation, the Colombian government named this coffee variety after the country: "Colombia."

The Colombia variety has excellent disease resistance and yield performance, but compared to Caturra, its flavor is somewhat lacking. It is generally used for commodity bean exports and is also one of Colombia's main coffee varieties.

Castillo

Castillo is a new-generation leaf rust-resistant coffee variety jointly developed by the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) and Colombia's National Coffee Research Center, Cenicafé. Cenicafé hoped to further improve the variety to achieve higher coffee yields, greater resistance, and quality and flavor comparable to Caturra.

After 23 years of research and testing, Cenicafé developed the fifth-generation Castillo, which was officially promoted for commercial cultivation in 2005. Castillo is known for its smoothness, aroma, and citric acidity. According to blind test results from Colombia's National Coffee Research Center, Castillo's flavor can match the quality of Caturra and Bourbon. It is currently being promoted for cultivation nationwide in Colombia, according to official statistics.

However, Front Street has not yet tasted Castillo coffee beans processed by traditional methods (natural or washed), so there are reservations about whether its flavor matches the official Colombian description. Currently, the Castillo variety offered by Front Street is Sakura from Paradise Estate, processed by double anaerobic washing, displaying aromas of mugwort, mint, and eucalyptus, with flavors of berries and strawberry candy.

At Front Street Coffee, there is also a Geisha variety among the Colombian coffee beans. This Geisha coffee bean is the Hanami Geisha Blend from Colombia's Huila Monteblanco Estate. Originally, the estate cultivated Caturra and Catuai varieties. In 2016, the estate owner and his team introduced the Geisha variety from Panama. It began producing harvests in 2020 and entered mass production in 2021. So this coffee bean can be considered Monteblanco Estate's first Geisha coffee bean sold to the market.

Front Street Colombian Geisha Blend · Hanami Coffee Beans

Region: Colombia, Huila

Estate: Monteblanco Estate

Altitude: 1,900 meters

Varieties: Geisha, Caturra, Catuai

Processing Method: Washed

Flavors: Pink Pepper, Chamomile, Mandarin Orange, Honey, Almond

Front Street will brew this Colombian coffee bean to see what its flavor characteristics are like~

Colombian Coffee Brewing Method

Through cupping, Front Street can determine that Colombian coffee beans are generally relatively mild and balanced overall. Therefore, it is recommended to brew at 90-91°C with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio. A medium-fine grind is recommended (78% passing through a Chinese standard No. 20 sieve). Filter: V60#01.

Front Street's three-stage brewing method: First, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Then, pour in a slow circular stream until reaching 130g, then pause. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until reaching 240g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the filter. (Start timing from the beginning of the bloom.) Total extraction time: 2'15".

Through Front Street's brewing, the Hanami Geisha coffee beans have floral notes, soft acidity of orange/mandarin, honey sweetness, and a tea-like finish.

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