Why is washed Huila a classic coffees reference point?

Colombian coffee is known for soft, balanced acidity with caramel and nutty sweetness, and the country is a major exporter of washed arabica bean lots. Washed Huila is widely treated as the reference flavor for Colombia: dark chocolate and nut tones up front, mild acidity, and moderate body. Front Street's Huayueye, Rose Valley, Sidra, and Big Belly lots show how far that softer style can be pushed.

Colombia sits in northwest South America with tropical climate, volcanic soil, and annual rainfall of about 2,000 to 3,000 millimeters. Altitude between 1,000 and 2,000 meters gives subtropical conditions, and average temperatures run about 15.8 to 20.5 degrees Celsius. Because terrain and climate vary so much, harvest seasons run through the year. Colombian beans were once mainly blend components, but the specialty wave moved them onto single-origin lists among classic coffees.

Colombian coffee is known for its soft, balanced acidity and caramel and nutty sweetness, and it is a major exporter of washed Arabica beans in the world. This article systematically sorts out the flavor logic of Colombian coffee from growing environment, main producing regions, variety composition to processing methods and brewing parameters, and introduces the product characteristics of Front Street Coffee's Huayueye, Rose Valley, Sidra, and Big Belly, helping coffee lovers understand the elegance of the "soft" coffee system and why washed Huila is regarded as the representative flavor of Colombia.

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When first encountering Colombian Huila coffee, its tone interwoven with dark chocolate and nuts easily captures the palate, especially for those who prefer chocolate flavors, it is almost the type you will like as soon as you drink it.

In the early days, Colombia's investment in specialty coffee was not prominent, so Colombian beans were often used in blend recipes. With the advancement of the specialty coffee wave, Colombia gradually shifted toward a specialty-oriented route, and Colombian coffee beans increasingly appeared on specialty lists, such as Front Street's Colombia Huayueye Coffee, Rose Valley Coffee, and others. At the same time, market demand has also pushed Colombian coffee beans to become an important part of specialty coffee.

Colombia's Growing Environment

Colombian coffee beans are large and attractive in appearance, which is closely related to their varieties and the unique growing conditions. Colombia is located in the northwest of the South American continent, bordering Panama in Central America. It has a tropical climate, but the climate varies significantly with the terrain, and volcanic soil is abundant. Annual rainfall is about 2,000 to 3,000 millimeters. It lies between 1°-11°15 north latitude and 72°-78 west longitude, with a mild climate and humid air. The diverse climate allows Colombia to have harvest seasons throughout the year. The southern part of the eastern plains and the Pacific coast have a tropical rainforest climate, the mountainous areas at an altitude of 1,000-2,000 meters have a subtropical climate, and the northwest has a tropical savanna climate. The average annual temperature is about 15.8-20.5 degrees Celsius, and the average temperature in coffee regions fluctuates between 18°C and 22.5°C. The suitable climate provides coffee with a true "natural pasture." Front Street believes that this is exactly why Colombian coffee has outstanding quality.

Colombian coffee (Cafe de Colombia) is produced in Colombia and is one of the few single-origin coffees sold in the world under a country name. In terms of quality, it has won praise that other coffees find hard to match. Compared with other producing countries, Colombia pays more attention to product development and production promotion. It is precisely this, together with superior geographical and climatic conditions, that makes Colombian coffee excellent in quality and taste and world-renowned.

World coffee is broadly divided into two major series: Brazil, as the world's largest producing country, has coffee beans that perform as "hard," with a strong taste; the other type, represented by Colombia, is "soft," with a light and fragrant taste. The difference comes from the altitude of the producing area and the cultivation method: Brazil plants coffee in hilly red soil with relatively extensive management; Colombia meticulously cultivates it in mountainous black soil. Front Street has found that Colombian coffee gives off a light and elegant aroma, not as strong as Brazilian coffee, nor with the acidity of African coffee, but rather a sweet, light fragrance, low-key and elegant.

Colombia's Main Producing Regions

Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee producer and exporter, the world's largest exporter of Arabica coffee beans, and also the world's largest exporter of washed coffee beans. Colombia is best known for producing regions such as Medellin, Armenia, and Manizales, conventionally collectively referred to as "MAM."

Colombia's specialty bean producing regions are mainly in the south, at altitudes above 1,500 meters, including San Augustin, Huila; Popayan, Cauca; Narino Province; and Tolima Province. The products from these places often have delicate acidity and berry aromas, along with caramel aroma and plenty of sweetness.

Colombian Coffee Bean Varieties

Good coffee cannot be separated from varieties. In addition to the natural growing environment, variety is also an important factor. Colombia is the world's largest exporter of Arabica coffee beans and also the world's largest exporter of washed coffee beans. Most coffee produced in Colombia belongs to the Arabica species, including Bourbon, Caturra, Typica, Maragogipe, and other varieties. Most of Colombia's classic coffees are Typica, Caturra, and Catuai.

Caturra and Catuai are the most common coffee varieties in Colombia. In addition, some of the more famous local coffee estates grow Geisha coffee and some new coffee varieties, such as Colombia (yes, this is the name of a coffee variety), Castillo, and others.

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, but shorter. Because it inherits Bourbon's bloodline, its disease resistance is relatively weak, but its yield is higher than Bourbon's. Although it was discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not suitable for growing in Brazil, so it was not planted on a large scale there. Instead, it became widespread in Central and South America. For example, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua all plant Caturra on a large scale.

Catuai is a coffee variety artificially crossbred from Caturra and Mondu Novo. Catuai has good resistance to natural disasters, especially wind and rain. The Catuai tree is relatively short. Compared with other coffee trees, Catuai's fruit grows more firmly and is not easy to pick. The fruit can be either red or yellow. So far, no yellow fruit has been found to taste better than red fruit. On the contrary, some people have found in cupping that although coffee processed from some yellow fruits has decent acidity, its cleanliness is worse than that of red fruits.

Castillo: Starting in 1961, CENICAFE began researching the Timor variety with Robusta bloodline. CENICAFE then continued its research and development. In 2002, it released the second disease-resistant variety, Tabi (a hybrid of Typica, Bourbon, and Timor). In 2005, it released Castillo, the most successful disease-resistant variety up to that time. After the large-scale outbreak of leaf rust in 2008, Colombia began vigorously promoting the cultivation of Castillo.

Colombia (Colombla), a new variety with the same name as the country, is a hybrid bred in 2008, with Caturra and Timor bloodlines, that is, a Catimor variety. However, [FNC] insists that although Colombia is directly descended from Catimor, its flavor is far more elegant than ordinary Catimor, because Colombia has undergone multiple generations of "reverse backcrossing" with Arabica, having washed away the musty odor of robusta beans. Its flavor is more like Arabica, and it also combines robusta's disease resistance and high yield, making it a powerful tool for increasing Colombia's production.

Colombian Coffee Bean Processing Methods

As the world's largest exporter of washed coffee beans, Colombia naturally uses the washed processing method for most of its coffee beans, and most specialty coffee is produced on small and medium-sized self-operated farms. Compared with Brazil's large-scale cultivation, the coffee quality of small farms is usually better. But perhaps friends will notice that many other special processing methods have appeared in Colombian coffee beans, such as barrel soaking, anaerobic fermentation, and so on. These special processing methods allow Colombian coffee to continuously create new ideas and bring progress in the specialty world.

If you like coffee with full fruit flavor, it is recommended to try Front Street Finca La Divisa Sidra and Front Street Finca La Divisa Big Belly from Colombia. Although they are grown on the same estate, Front Street found through cupping that under anaerobic natural processing, the two varieties Sidra and Big Belly actually present completely different tones: Sidra smells of very rich floral and fruity aroma, but the brewed coffee liquid presents a mellow charm like wine; Big Belly, however, has more berry notes, making its juicy feel maxed out. Both coffees can be purchased at Front Street's Tmall flagship store.

Washed Processing Method:

After the coffee cherries are picked, they are first poured into a large water tank. Some underdeveloped, low-quality beans will float to the surface, while ripe, full fruits will sink to the bottom. At this point, remove the defective beans (fruits) floating on the surface.

Then use a pulper to remove the outer skin and pulp of the coffee fruit. At this time, a slippery layer of mucilage still clings to the coffee beans. Put the coffee beans with mucilage into a fermentation tank for 16-36 hours, during which microorganisms break down the mucilage. After fermentation is complete, use a large amount of clean water to remove the remaining mucilage from the coffee beans. Finally, dry the washed coffee beans.

Front Street believes that the acidity, bitterness, and sweetness of Colombia Supremo coffee are perfectly balanced. With a unique aroma, after drinking it, the fragrance fills the entire mouth. When you exhale the aroma from the mouth through the nose, the smell is very full. No matter which special processing method is used, it is improved from the basic washed processing method. At the same time, Front Street believes that the flavor of washed processed coffee beans can better reflect the essential flavor of the coffee beans, so almost all of Front Street's daily beans are washed processed, and washed Huila coffee is also the representative of Colombian coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions

Of course, if you want to brew a good cup of coffee, besides the coffee variety, what you also need is the freshness of the coffee beans. Front Street believes that the freshness of coffee beans is a very important part of brewing. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all within 5 days of the roasting date, because Front Street deeply understands that the freshness of coffee beans has a great impact on flavor. Front Street's roasting principle is "freshly roasted good coffee," so that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when they get it. The resting period of coffee is about 4-7 days, so when the customer receives it, it is exactly at its best flavor.

Of course, some customers need Front Street to help grind the coffee. That is no problem either, but Front Street must remind you: once coffee beans are ground in advance, they no longer need to be rested, because during transportation, the pressure generated by carbon dioxide inside the packaging can also make the coffee flavor rounder, so once you receive the ground coffee, you can immediately brew a cup and drink it. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because after ground coffee contacts air, it oxidizes relatively quickly, which means the coffee's flavor will dissipate relatively quickly and the coffee will not taste as good. Therefore, Front Street recommends buying whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing, so that you can better taste the coffee's flavor.

Front Street Parameters for brewing Colombia Sidra coffee:

Colombia Sidra coffee beans use medium-dark roasting, so Front Street chose: dripper: KONO dripper, water temperature: 88°C, coffee dose: 15 grams, coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15, grind size: medium grind (80% passing rate on China standard No. 20 sieve)

Colombia's Sidra and Big Belly coffees use medium-light roasting, so Front Street chose: dripper: Hario V 60, water temperature: 90°C, coffee dose: 15 grams, coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15, grind size: medium-fine grind (80% passing rate on China standard No. 20 sieve)

Use staged extraction. Use twice the coffee dose in water for blooming, that is, 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom. Starting at 31 seconds, continue pouring in a small stream in circles until 125 grams, then pause. Continue pouring until 225 grams and stop. After the water in the dripper has dripped through, remove the dripper. Start timing from the beginning of pouring. The extraction time is 2'00". Next, pick up the whole cup of coffee and shake it evenly, then pour it into a cup for tasting.

Colombia Huila coffee flavor : rich acidity, caramel, sweet nuts, chocolate, and a commendable soft fruity acidity.

Colombia Sidra coffee flavor : floral, candied fruit, apricot, with a wine-like finish, cream, and fermented notes.

Colombia Big Belly coffee flavor : spices, bright orange, blueberry-like flavor, prominent acidity, juicy mouthfeel, ripe pineapple juice

For different coffee roasting degrees, the brewing equipment used is also different. The Kono dripper is generally suitable for medium-dark roasted coffee beans, and medium-dark roasted coffee beans have a relatively mellow mouthfeel; for medium-light roasted coffee beans, choose the Hario V 60 dripper, and the mouthfeel is relatively rich. Whether it is the choice of coffee beans or the brewing method, you are welcome to come to Front Street to discuss together.

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