Costa Rican Green Coffee Beans (Not Roasted)

Costa Rican Green Coffee Beans (Not Roasted)

Fair Trade Rwanda Maraba Green Coffee Beans (Not Roasted)

Fair Trade Rwanda Maraba Green Coffee Beans (Not Roasted)

Colombian Green Coffee Beans (Not Roasted)

$6.73
Availability: In stock
Colombian Green Coffee Beans (Not Roasted) is available to buy in 1 pound increments

Colombian Green Coffee Beans (Not Roasted). Sold in 1 pound (16 oz) increments.

Colombia produces some of the finest coffee beans in the world. Balanced, full-bodied, smooth and rich with a delicious fruity aroma, caramel note, bright acidity, and an aftertaste that lingers, these unroasted green coffee beans have it all. Colombian green coffee beans can be dark-roasted without turning bitter, which makes them perfect for espressos and milk-based drinks such as macchiatos and cappuccinos, but they also make an awesome aero-press coffee.

Colombia grows about 12% of the world’s coffee but unlike bigger producers like Brazil and Vietnam it only produces premium Arabica beans, grown almost exclusively on small, sustainable family run farms averaging 5 acres. The most common Arabica varietals grown are Typica, Caturra, Bourbon and Maragogype.

The Colombian coffee industry is highly regulated and the best quality beans are reserved for the export market. Unusually, the coffee beans are not graded according to quality but rather by size. Supremo beans are the largest. However, bean size alone is not a reliable indicator of quality and it’s entirely possible to find good and bad beans of both grades.

Coffee has been grown in Colombia since the 18th century. Legend has it that Jesuit priests brought the first coffee seeds with them from the French colony of Guyana in the early 1700s. But it was not until the 19th century that commercial coffee exports began with the first shipment of 2,500 pounds of coffee to the United States in 1835. Today Colombia is the single biggest exporter of coffee to the US with exports worth $1.25 billion in 2017.

Today coffee growing is the single largest industry in Colombia, employing 500,000 farmers, providing 800,000 direct jobs and with 2.2 million acres of land under cultivation. But to Colombians coffee production is much more than an industry, it is an integral part of their national identity.

Due to the huge diversity in coffee varieties and growing regions, no two Colombian coffees are alike. However, they are typically mild and characterized by a pronounced aroma, bright acidity and a smooth, rich and mellow body that makes them ideal in espresso blends to balance out other more intense flavors that might otherwise overwhelm the palate.

There are 14 coffee growing regions in Colombia but the majority of high end Colombian coffee production happens in the Coffee Triangle in the Paisa region where the Andes split into three parallel mountain ranges or “cordilleras”. The growing conditions here are ideal for the delicate Arabica coffee plants with high altitudes, mountainous terrain and a tropical climate with mild temperatures, high rainfall and just the right amount of sunlight. The region was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2011.

Colombian coffee is predominantly shade grown, surrounded by other trees and banana plants. The cooler temperatures mean that it takes longer for the coffee cherries to ripen and yields are lower than sun-grown varieties but the beans are higher in acidity, producing the pronounced aroma and distinctive clean, bright and citrusy taste in the cup for which Colombian coffees are known.

The Narino growing region high in the Andes Mountains in the far south of Colombia is particularly renowned for its coffee grown at very high altitudes, in some cases as high as 6000 meters. The delicate coffee plants are protected from night-time frosts by the rising daytime heat from canyons in the surrounding foothills.

Unusually, in some coffee growing regions of Colombia, notably the central zones, the coffee is harvested twice a year, in October to December and again in April and May. This means that Colombia is able to supply fresh coffee for export pretty much all year round.

Due to the predominantly rugged terrain and a preference for traditional harvesting methods mechanization is rare. Instead, every bean is picked by hand. Traditionally, Colombian beans are wet processed with the coffee fruits being steeped in water to separate the coffee cherries from the surrounding pulp. However, due to concerns about water consumption and contamination of local water systems growers are increasingly using a new dry pulping method. Typically, farmers spread the beans across the flat roofs of their houses to dry in the sun after processing, although polytunnels may be used at high altitude and in cold weather conditions.

Green Colombian Coffee Beans are versatile and can be light, medium or dark roasted according to taste. Light roasts tend to work best as the bright acidity and delicate floral and citrus qualities and chocolate and caramel flavors are preserved. Medium to dark roasts produce a richer aroma and sweeter, more intense cocoa flavor.