What sets the Huila coffee arabica variety apart?

Colombia Flower Moon Night is not a flavored bean. Its strawberry jam aroma comes from anaerobic natural processing of the Caturra arabica variety, grown at Acevedo Gatlin Estate in Colombia's Huila region at about 1,800 meters. Sealed fermentation followed by natural drying concentrates fruity esters in the seed itself, so the sweet jam-like smell is a product of fermentation and terroir, not added flavoring.

Huila sits in the southern Central Cordillera, where farms above 1,500 meters and converging rivers create humid, mild conditions suited to high-quality arabica. Cupping and brewing at Front Street Coffee trace the strawberry profile to this combination of altitude, variety, and processing, which also explains the bean's strong appeal among customers who prefer fruit-forward coffee.

Colombia Flower Moon Night coffee beans have attracted much attention because they release an intense strawberry jam aroma as soon as the can is opened. Many coffee lovers wonder: is such a vivid fruity aroma the result of natural fermentation, or has flavoring been added? Starting from Front Street Coffee's cupping and brewing experience, this article sorts out the bean's regional background, estate information, variety characteristics, and anaerobic natural processing method, and also includes Front Street's roasting curve, cupping flavors, and pour-over parameters to help you fully understand where Flower Moon Night's strawberry profile comes from and why it has become one of Front Street's most popular coffees among female customers.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Walk into Front Street Coffee. If you tell a Front Street Coffee barista, "I'd like something with a standout flavor and prominent fruitiness," they will most likely take out a can of Colombia Flower Moon Night coffee—lift the lid, and a sweet aroma like strawberry jam rushes out. At Front Street, this bean can be called one of the choices most favored by female customers; that sweet jam-like dry aroma is unforgettable at first smell. Now let Front Street talk about this bean full of strawberry jam aroma: Colombia Acevedo Gatlin Farm Flower Moon Night coffee.

Region: Huila

Estate: Acevedo Gatlin Estate

Altitude: 1800m

Variety: Caturra

Processing method: Anaerobic natural processing

Colombia Huila Region Huila Province is located in the southern section of Colombia's Central Cordillera and is the country's most famous specialty coffee producing area. Surrounded by mountains and rolling hills, coffee here is generally grown at altitudes above 1,500 meters; several important Colombian rivers converge here, bringing abundant water and humidity to the area. Huila has mountainous terrain, and coffee farms are mostly opened on canyon slopes, so it combines the high altitude and suitable temperatures needed to grow high-quality Arabica. The climate of the canyon slopes also makes it difficult for cold winds to intrude, while mountain breezes bring coolness without high temperatures, and rainfall is quite abundant, so it could be said to enjoy exceptional natural conditions for coffee cultivation. Excellent soil combined with geographical advantages has enabled Huila to produce many Colombian coffees with complex flavor layers and a strength in fruity notes. Beans from this region belong to the specially selected high-grown coffee beans of the Colombian state company and are known as a national treasure of Colombia. With superior geographical and climatic conditions, Colombian coffee has always maintained relatively high quality. Front Street believes Huila coffee beans have a full mouthfeel and a heavier body, with aromas such as nuts, chocolate, and caramel, as well as soft, pleasant fruit acidity.

Acevedo Gatlin Farm Acevedo Gatlin Farm is located in Acevedo, Huila Province. The estate owner, Ramirez, came from a coffee-growing family, entered coffee production at the age of 18, and also once worked in coffee-related professional work in Acevedo. Later he bought this estate named Acevedo Gatlin to grow Caturra. Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon and often presents a flavor profile of crisp fruit acidity and light sweetness. The previous owner of Gatlin Farm had already launched a special processing program three years earlier and guided Ramirez on how to advance the special processing project; with his passion for coffee cultivation, Ramirez adjusted the original fermentation process, which had not produced ideal results.

Coffee Bean Variety Caturra is a natural mutation of the Arabica variety Bourbon and was discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its tree is not as tall as Bourbon and appears shorter. Because it inherits Bourbon bloodlines, Caturra has relatively weak disease resistance, but its yield is higher than Bourbon's. Although it was discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not well suited to Brazil's environment, so it was not widely planted in Brazil. Instead, it became widespread in Central and South America, with large-scale cultivation in countries such as Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.

Anaerobic Natural Processing

The method is to first subject whole coffee cherries to anaerobic fermentation, then put them through natural processing. Overall, the anaerobic stage makes the coffee more uniform and easier to monitor; the aerobic stage is more complex and harder to monitor. Under oxygen-free conditions, the breakdown of sugars in the mucilage is slowed, the pH drops more slowly, and the fermentation time is thereby extended, further developing better sweetness and a more balanced flavor. The temperature of anaerobic fermentation must be controlled below 10-15 degrees. In a sealed and clean stainless steel fermentation container, the coffee beans ferment for three days under oxygen-free conditions.

Front Street Roasting Recommendations

The roaster used by Front Street is a Taiwan Yang Chia Feima 800N, with a bean charge of 480 grams. Considering that Colombia Flower Moon Night coffee uses anaerobic natural processing, Front Street Coffee wants both to retain the bean's fruit profile and to present a full-bodied richness and sweetness, so it chooses a medium roast approach.

Charge temperature: 180°C

Turning point: 6'25, 150.6°C

First crack: 10'20, 185°C

Developed for 1'50 after first crack, discharged at 196°C

Front Street Cupping Report Front Street cups within 8-24 hours after the coffee beans finish roasting. The flavor performance of Flower Moon Night is as follows:

Dry aroma: strawberry jam, baked bread

Wet aroma: rose, strawberry, caramel

Flavor: strawberry jam, maple syrup, liqueur chocolate, fermented wine aroma

Front Street Brewing Recommendations

Dripper: hario v60

Dose: 15g

Grind size: fine granulated sugar size (80% passing through a No. 20 sieve)

Ratio: 1:15

Water temperature: 90-91°C

Front Street Brewing Method

For the first pour, add 30 grams of water and bloom for 30 seconds; then pour in 95 grams (the electronic scale shows about 125 grams), finishing in about 1 minute; when the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour in the remaining 100 grams (the electronic scale shows about 225 grams), finishing in about 1 minute 40 seconds. Dripping ends at 2 to 2 minutes 10 seconds; remove the dripper, and extraction is complete.

Flower Moon Night brewing flavor: intense strawberry aroma, strawberry acidity on entry, jam-like sweetness emerging in the middle, a slight cocoa note in the finish, and an overall juice-like mouthfeel.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

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