Colombian Coffee 

Colombian coffee has a long history, first being introduced back in the early 1800s.  Today, the wonderful specialty coffees of Colombia have been promoted well by the Colombian Coffee Federation.  Keep in mind that many types of Colombian coffee is good, they are often overrated.  However, if you want some excellent coffee, it does exist.  What you get with Colombian coffee is a heavy-bodied and rich flavored coffee that has good acidity and an amazing, intense aroma. 

The producers of coffee in Colombia are responsible for as much as 12% of all the coffee in the world.  In fact, they fall second only to Brazil, which is the number one producer.  Even so, other countries are sneaking up on Colombia such as Vietnam of all places, expecting to surpass Colombia within the near future.  Now, keep in mind that what Vietnam produces is 100% Robusta, something not everyone enjoys. 

In Colombia, you have two primary regions to include Manizales, Armenia, and Medillin, which are located in the center portion of the country and Bucaramanga and Bogota found in the eastern mountain region.  The coffee produced in the first region is full-bodied and rich but with fine acidity.  On the other hand, the coffee grown in Bucaramanga is quite mild although heavier-bodied and rich in flavor and in Bogota, rich and bright but with less acid. 

For the most part, Colombia coffee has been marketed well and is widely available in the United States where it is considered a nice, all-around coffee.  The problem is that finding Colombia coffee that is really from Colombia can be challenging.  Typically, the container will identify it by the region where it is grown although there are some generic kinds but even harder to find. 

When you look at grading, most South American and Central American growers use an altitude method instead of the size of the bean.  Therefore, when you see Colombia coffee referred to in stores as “Excelso” or “Supremo”, these are merely screen names since the size of the bean does not matter.  In fact, finding Colombia coffee with diverse bean size can actually produce a better cup of coffee.  Therefore, read the labels carefully to ensure you are getting the real thing so you can enjoy a nice cup of coffee from Colombia.