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Colombia: The Perfect Second Origin to Explore

Colombia: The Perfect Second Origin to Explore

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Colombia might be the most rewarding second origin any coffee lover can explore. It combines a centuries-old washed-coffee tradition that's forgiving to roast with a fast-growing wave of experimental processing that keeps surprising even seasoned roasters. Ingo breaks down both sides in this episode.

Coffee reached Colombia in the early 18th century, brought over by Jesuits from Venezuela. The first documented plantings date to around 1730-1740, exports began around 1830, and by the early 1900s coffee had become the country's leading export good, grown mostly on small family farms rather than large plantations. The Colombian Coffee Federation, founded in the 1930s, helped professionalize the industry, and the Juan Valdez character later turned "100% Colombian coffee" into a global quality signal.

Colombia's coffee character shifts a lot by region. Huila (1,300-2,000m) is the country's highest-volume region, delivering sweet, balanced cups with red fruit notes. Nariño (1,800-2,100m) grows some of the highest and brightest coffees, often citrusy with subtle winey notes. Tolima (1,200-2,000m) tends toward full-bodied, chocolatey cups. Cauca (1,700-2,200m) offers vibrant, juicy, fruit-forward coffees from a strong network of smallholder cooperatives - this is also where Roast Rebels sources its San Sebastian washed coffee, known for green apple, orange and caramel notes. Antioquia (1,300-2,000m) produces mild, well-rounded, approachable coffees. And the coffee axis of Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío (1,200-2,000m) tends to be sweet and balanced with a mild acidity, with Quindío in particular known for bright, floral cups - the origin of Roast Rebels' peach co-fermented washed coffee.

Colombia is also considered one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, and that biodiversity shows up on the coffee farms themselves: many producers intercrop coffee with fruits like mango or papaya, and even neighboring plots with different intercrops can taste noticeably different in the cup. Add in a wide range of regional microclimates, and Colombia becomes an origin worth exploring lot by lot, farm by farm.

On the roasting side, Ingo shares a concrete benchmark for a classic Colombian washed coffee roasted for filter: target around 13 to 14 percent weight loss, hit yellowing around 4:45, first crack around 8:30, and a roughly 1:30 development phase for a total roast time landing near 10 minutes. On an Aillio Bullet, that translates to a start temperature around 280 degrees and a heat setting of 8 rather than 9 - enough energy without maxing out the burner.

Beyond the classic washed profile, Colombia's new wave includes anaerobic fermentation, carbonic maceration, yeast and temperature-shock fermentations, and co-fermented lots - like the peach co-fermented coffee Roast Rebels sources from Quindío.

Links from this episode:
Peach co-fermented washed coffee from Quindío: https://roastrebels.com/en/colombia-washed-peach-castillo/
San Sebastian washed coffee from Cauca: https://roastrebels.com/en/colombia-san-sebastian/
Full range of green coffee: https://roastrebels.com/en/green-coffee/
Aillio Bullet Masterclass (Roast Rebels Academy): https://academy.roastrebels.com/course/aillio-bullet-masterclass

Roast Rebels is Europe's go-to platform for specialty coffee roasting, selling small-scale roasting machines including the Kaffelogic Nano 7e, Aillio Bullet, Gene Café, Behmor and Nucleus LINK, alongside curated green coffees from origins like Colombia. Service centers in Germany and Switzerland, free shipping across the EU, and the Roast Rebels Academy for in-depth roasting courses.

Shop: https://roastrebels.com/en
Academy: https://academy.roastrebels.com
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