Pennine Colombian Excelso Washed Arabica Green Coffee Beans (1kg)

Colombia is the second largest producer of coffee in the world and the largest producer of washed and Arabica coffee. They are well known for their high quality coffee and about half of their exports come to the United States. Colombia exports approximately 12.5 million bags and internal consumption is about 2 million bags annually.

Colombia only produces washed Arabica coffee. There are three primary varieties grown in Colombia and the coffee is referred to by the region in which it is grown. There are many coffee producing regions in the country. Colombia is proficient in producing an abundance of truly delicious and sought after coffee.

Cupping Notes

Citrusy flavor, medium-bodied, and rich acidity with a clean and sweet aftertaste

 

“Excelso” is a grading term for exportable coffee from Colombia, not related to variety or cupping profile. EP (European Preparation) specifies that the raw beans are all hand sorted to remove any defective beans and foreign material. Excelso coffee beans are large, but slightly smaller than Supremo coffee beans. Excelso coffee beans are a screen size of 15-16, versus Supremo beans which are sized on screen 17. Colombian coffee is graded before shipment according to bean size. It is possible that Supremo and Excelso coffee beans are harvested from the same tree, but they are sorted by it’s size. The greatest volume of exported coffee is Excelso. These beans include good-to-large flat beans and some peaberries.

The Excelso beans are from a variety of regions including;

Antioquia – Medellin (18% of total production)
Tolima – Ibague
Caldas – Manizales (29% of total production)
Valle del Cauca – Cali (13% of total production)
Huila – Neiva (5% of total production)
Cauca – Popayan (4% of total production)
Santander – Bucaramanga
Cupping Notes
Citrusy flavor, medium-bodied, and rich acidity with a clean and sweet aftertaste

Region Various Regions
Growing Altitude 1200 – 2000 m.a.s.l
Arabica Variety Caturra, Typica, Bourbon
Harvest Period September – December
Milling Process Washed
Aroma Clean
Flavor Citrus
Body Round
Acidity Bright

Colombia is a country of great diversity, both geographically, culturally, and linguistically – it boasts over 68 ethnic languages as well as Spanish and even English in one of the archipelagos. Its land stretches from the Amazon Rainforest to the highlands of the Andes mountains, and was once the worlds largest producer of washed coffees, from three main geographical areas trisected by the Andes mountain range.

Rust, a fungal disease appearing as yellow spots on the leaves disrupting photosynthesis, decimated the production back in 2009. The country has seen a rise in resistant varietals since then as production has slowly regrown. Typica was gradually replaced in the 1970’s with the introduction of Caturra, with its higher productivity and more compact growth allowing for increased crop density. The Colombia variety was released in 1982, a cross between Caturra and the Timor hybrid that delivered better rust resistance, and Castillo in 2005 bringing further improvements on both productivity, rust resistance and cup quality.

When ripe, the coffee cherries are picked and go through an initial flotation sorting to remove underripes, sticks, and general debris before passing through a pulping machine and working their way down the washing channels to the fermentation tanks. Here, they will sit for typically 8-14 hours, before moving to the drying patios or guardiolas for controlled drying down to 10-12% moisture. The coffee is stored in parchment until ready for export, then it is processed at the dry mills and bagged for shipping. Bean sizes 15-16 are graded as Excelso.