Colombian Coffee: History, Tips and Buying Guide
Colombian coffee has been one of the benchmarks of quality in the coffee world for sometime.
Rightly so too. Coffee courses through Colombia's veins. Here, coffee is tradition, livelihood and passion for so many which transcends into the fantastic coffee that originates here.
I visited Colombia a couple of years ago and met some fantastic people in the coffee world. I even worked on a coffee farm for a few weeks.
The country is teeming with prime coffee growing environments, with the Andean mountains ripping straight down the middle with countless off-spills of high altitude slopes with varying temperatures.
Colombia is a prime specialty-coffee-growing country with a long history of production and was the focus of one of the most successful marketing campaigns in coffee history during the 50’s.
Juan Valdez cantered onto Television sets in 1958 And began telling the story of high quality Colombia coffee beans.
But what is happening on the ground today and how do you decide where to buy the best Colombian coffee beans.
Where To Find The Best Colombian Coffee?
Here at Batch coffee we pride ourselves on showcasing some the some of the best independent coffee roasters in the UK and their seasonal single origin coffees from around the world in our subscription box.
We are a team of coffee professionals that have worked in the industry all around the world.
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Here are a couple of our favourite coffee roasters that have fantastic seasonal coffee menus including some of the best Colombian coffee beans:
Best Colombian Coffee UK
Batch coffee features two different coffees in each fortnightly box. That works out as over 50 new coffees every year that you can experience without leaving the house.
Although the roaster and the origin changes constantly, Colombia is an origin that is regularly frequented because of the quality and the diversity of the coffee. Checkout the Colombian coffees that we have recently featured below.
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Assembly are the quality and customer focused coffee roaster based in Brixton, London.
They are one of the few coffee roasters in the UK that are pushing the boundaries of each aspect of their business.
Checkout our full Review of Assembly Coffee Roasters Here, or.
Volcano consistently produce some of the best coffee available in the UK at such a high volume.
Their seasonal menu will entice newbie coffee drinkers through to seasoned coffee slurpers.
Check out the full Review of Volcano Coffee Works Here, or
Tom Sobey founded Origin coffee over 15 years ago in Cornwall, where they roast their coffee.
They are among the pioneers of the third wave speciality coffee movement in the UK and continue to be at the forefront of the industry.
Read the full Origin Coffee Review.
If Carnival Coffee sound like the ground coffee for you Visit Origin’s Online Shop Here.
We spoke to a couple of coffee experts about their experiences with Colombian coffee.
I started my journey through Specialty Coffee in 2016 in Bogota's Expo Especiales explains Yker from Bon Viviant Caffe.
At that time, I was working as a management consultant for a project in the city and had already spent four years traveling to Bogota frequently. Casually a friend invited me to go with her to the Expo, and that experience changed my life.
I saw a coffee auction, met coffee producers, watched the Colombian Barista Championship, and stopped at every stall asking for espresso machines features, grinders, and all sorts of things.
What I learned that day, I confirmed after a few years of researching and learning about coffee.
Colombian coffee is different because it has incredibly high standards. And it lives to high standards because the Colombian Coffee Federation does excellent work promoting Colombia coffee beans internationally.
It's hard to say if Colombian coffee is the best in the world, as many would argue. But I trust Colombian coffee quality standards, and I know for a fact that Colombian coffee is good. Moreover, Colombian Single Origin Specialty coffee is superb.
Eventually, it all boils down to the people. Colombian producers and roasters know that they represent their country and feel proud to strengthen Colombia's reputation as a premium coffee producer.
Find out which coffee beans our team of industry professionals loved the most.
Why Is Colombian Coffee The Benchmark For Quality?
Felipe from Your Tea and Coffee was born in Colombia and as you might have guessed is a huge fan and advocate of coffee from this origin.
He describes how there are many reasons as to why Colombian coffee is regarded as a benchmark for quality coffee.
Colombian coffee benefits from the country's unique geography. The Andes mountain range trifurcates in Colombia into three separate branches.
This results in a huge diversity of climatic zones and ecosystems that are very close to each other, thanks to changes in elevation.
There is such diversity that there are many ideal climatic zones for coffee plantations which are different from each other, resulting in different coffee flavours.
Adding to this, Colombia has had and continues to have active volcanoes.
Best Espresso Coffee Beans
Throughout the years volcanoes have rendered the soil very fertile, bettering the already great conditions for coffee growth.
The combination of these factors means that Colombia is able to cultivate almost exclusively coffee of the Arabica variety.
This is one of the factors that differentiate Colombian coffee.
For example Brazil and Vietnam are the largest coffee producers, yet their crops are made of only 70% and 3% of Arabica coffee, respectively.
This means on average, Colombian is more desirable.
Colombian coffee tends to be planted in small farms on steep hillsides.
This means that mechanical harvesting is challenging. So all the coffee beans are hand picked, which increases overall quality.
Tom hindering Manuel on Finca Florida, Manizales.
The reason is that other automated mechanical forms of harvesting cannot easily distinguish a ripe bean from an unripe one, or a low quality one from a high quality one.
Another factor that increases Colombian coffee quality is that it is mostly wet-processed. Although it requires significant amounts of water, the end result is a cleaner and brighter flavor profile.
Finally, Colombia has excellently marketed their coffee.
The Federación Nacional de Cafeteros (FNC), in English the National Coffee Growers Federation, was established in 1927.
THe FNC later introduced Juan Valdez, a national character that is now recognizable across the world. When one thinks of coffee, one thinks of Colombia (and Juan Valdez), and vice-versa.
Juan Valdez. Photo: Juan Valdez Cafe
Their goal now is to empower coffee growers while encouraging sustainable cultivation methods.
Different Type Of Coffee Roasts
What Does Colombian Coffee Taste Like?
There are differences in flavour profile within Colombia. However, there is a common denominator: coffee from Colombia often features a well-balanced flavour profile with a medium body.
It has some acidity with hints of sweetness.
However, as noted, flavour profiles do change from region to region. For example, coffee grown in the Medellin, Armenia and Manizales area (MAM for short, also known as the Eje Cafetero) has higher acidity than coffee from the northern parts of the country such as the Sierra Nevada.
This comes down to the many ideal cultivation areas in Colombia that still differ from each other.
Most of the high quality coffee beans get exported.
In Colombia, many people drink a 'tinto', which is a lower quality black coffee. Having a tinto with some locals is a great way to experience Colombian culture. Read more about Colombian Tinto Coffee.
Is Colombian Coffee Handpicked?
Felipe recalls vividly one of his school field trips back in the 90s when he was living in Colombia.
We visited a coffee farm, and saw the coffee being harvested by some ladies carrying huge bags full of coffee cherries that I couldn't even carry.
I remember seeing their hands with scars and cuts from years of coffee cherry picking. Hand-picking coffee is a very tough and sometimes hazardous job.
Every time I drink a cup of Colombian coffee, I remember these ladies. I know someone went through a lot of effort to harvest the coffee I'm now drinking, which makes me feel grateful.
Is Colombian Coffee Arabica Or Robusta?
Colombia officially produces only arabica coffee according to Index Mundi.
That being said, there may be a few small farms producing Robusta coffee but production of any varietal is considered zero if the annual production is under 1000 60kg sacks.
Find More Coffee Stats
Watch this space though as scientists and coffee farmers in Colombia are experimenting with Robusta coffees because of the increase in coffee leaf rust and Nestle have been reported to have sent 3000 Robusta seedlings according to Sprudge.
Is Colombian Coffee Roasted Light Or Dark?
Often you will find Colombian coffee roasted around the medium level in the world of Colombian single origin coffee. That is however a sweeping statement as coffee beans can be roasted to any level, from light to dark.
Generally speaking though Colombian coffee typically has sweet and rich notes that are highlighted best with a medium roast.
