Have you ever tried a refreshing cup of Colombian coffee? Ahh! What delicious taste does a freshly brewed cup of Colombian coffee offers, simply amazing it is. This coffee certainly adds an extra flavor to your life and serves to be the best companion of students and workaholics worldwide.
Coffee has been in cultivation in Colombia since the early 1800s. Today the country is known for producing nearly 12% of the world’s coffee. Owing to such a large amount of coffee produced, Colombia is known to be the key supplier of coffee in the coffee market worldwide. The country is known for producing a smooth and versatile flavored coffee that is perfect for you.
Colombian coffee is generally grown by small farms and is then collected, wet-processed, milled, and finally exported to the Colombian coffee federation.
Colombian coffee is well-known all across the globe for its unique quality and delicious taste. This coffee is regarded as one of the best coffees around the world. But the question is, what makes Colombian coffee taste so good and a lot better than others? Why has Colombian coffee gained so much reputation all over the world? Continue reading to find out.
What Makes Colombian Coffee Great?
Generally, three major factors determine the quality of the raw coffee which are:
- Geographical Location and Climate
- The Harvesting Process
- Type of coffee
Let’s discuss these factors briefly to better understand why Colombian coffee is better than all other coffee’s around the world.
Geographical Location and Climate
A significant factor that makes Colombian coffee great is its perfect geographical location. Colombia is known to have the ideal geography for growing coffee. It has the ideal conditions that the sensitive coffee crop needs to thrive.
In addition to that, the excellent climate conditions, perfect soil, and the right amount of rainfall provide the richness of flavor to the Colombian coffee. Coffee grows best in places at least 200 cm (80 inches) of rainfall per year and areas where the temperature never falls below freezing.
The mountainous terrain, tropical location, and high rainfall with the right amount of sunlight and mild climate make Colombia an ideal spot for growing coffee. People often claim that Colombia is blessed with fantastic biodiversity and friendly locals, but they often neglect mentioning the ideal climate in Colombia for growing coffee.
The Harvesting Process
Having perfect climatic conditions is not enough for growing the best coffee. Instead, having perfect climate conditions is useless if your methods of growing and harvesting coffee beans are sloppy or poorly executed. The growing and harvesting process is an essential factor that determines the taste of coffee and is responsible for giving it a perfectly refreshing and delicious taste.
The coffee grows best on steep slopes, which are surrounded by trees and banana plants. These conditions provide the much-needed shade and prevent the beans from the scorching heat of the sun. Above all, the most surprising thing is that every bean is picked by hand. Yes, you read it right; all coffee bean producers in Colombia pick every bit of their harvest by hand.
Why is Handpicking Necessary?
The handpicking processes critical because a machine cannot differentiate between unripe beans, green beans, overripe beans, and the ideal coffee cherry. That’s why implementing human hands is essential.
Coffee pickers pick each bean with their hands. The handpicking process is quite challenging and is a testament to the hard nature of the task that coffee pickers are implementing; however, it pays off for the coffee-lovers as they succeed in ensuring that the best coffee beans reach their cup. However, the sad thing is that the bad beans still get processed and end up reaching your cup with top-quality beans designated for foreign countries.
Type of Coffee
There are several types of coffee beans, i.e., Arabica and robusta. The taste of the coffee significantly depends on the kind of coffee beans you are choosing. Apart from the perfect geographical and climatic conditions, what makes Colombian coffee great is that it produces 100% Arabica beans.
You might be wondering what is special regarding Arabica beans and how they play a role in enhancing the taste of Colombian coffee. Let’s find out.
Arabica beans are superior in quality and are regarded as the best coffee beans. They offer a sweeter and lighter taste. In addition to that, Arabica beans have a lesser amount of caffeine (nearly half amount than other stronger acidic versions) which is another reason that makes Colombian coffee an ideal treat for your loved ones.
Finally, we can say that Arabica beans end up delivering a tastier, richer, and healthier cup of coffee as compared to robusta and Colombian coffee contain 100% Arabica beans which play a significant role in enhancing the taste of the coffee.
Colombia’s Best Coffees
The three of Colombia’s most favorite coffees are:
- Medellin
- Armenia
- Manizales
These coffees are named after the region in which they are grown. Often these coffees are marketed together to make the transfer process easier. These coffees are generally known by the acronym MAM.
Buying Colombian Coffee
On the contrary, you can also opt to buy whole bean coffee s it retains its flavor for 3-4 weeks in a valve bag. Hence, whole bean coffee is a better option as compared to ground coffee.[D1]
Concluding Remarks
The coffee culture in Colombia is very powerful. Coffee is way more than a simple hot drink in Colombia. It serves to be the source of bringing people together, building connections, strengthening friendships, and much more. Above all, coffee is a source of livelihood for people throughout the country. In short, we can say Colombian coffee is one important factor in promoting happiness among people in the country.
If you are a big fan of coffee, you must try drinking Colombian coffee. It is amongst the finest coffees in the world and offers a refreshing and everlasting taste. We hope this writing helped you discover why Colombian coffee is one of the world’s best coffees. If this writing has inspired you, consider adding Colombian coffee to your daily routine. We guarantee you will enjoy its delightful taste.