How do you drink Colombian coffee? is Colombian coffee suitable for espresso or hand-brewed coffee?

Colombia produces some of the best coffee beans in the world. Balanced, mellow, smooth and full-bodied, with delicious aromas of fruit, caramel, bright acidity and a lingering finish, these unroasted raw coffee beans are available. Colombian raw coffee beans can be roasted deep without becoming bitter, which makes them ideal for making espresso and milk drinks such as macchiato and cappuccino, but they can also make great air-pressed coffee.

Colombia grows about 12 per cent of the world's coffee, but unlike large producers such as Brazil and Vietnam, it produces only high-quality Arabica beans, almost entirely on small sustainable family farms with an average of five acres. The most common Arabica varieties are Typica, Caturra, Bourbon and Maragogype.

The coffee industry in Colombia is heavily regulated and the highest quality coffee beans are used exclusively for export markets. Unusually, coffee beans are graded not by quality but by size. Supremo beans are the biggest. However, individual bean size is not a reliable indicator of quality, and it is entirely possible to find two grades of good beans and bad beans.

Coffee has been grown in Colombia since the 18th century. Legend has it that Jesuit priests brought the first coffee seeds from the French colony of Guyana in the early 1700s. But it was not until the 19th century that commercial coffee exports began, exporting 2500 pounds of coffee to the United States for the first time in 1835. Today, Colombia is the largest exporter of coffee to the United States, with exports of $1.25 billion in 2017.

Today, coffee cultivation is Colombia's largest single industry, employing 500000 farmers, providing 800000 direct jobs and 2.2 million acres of arable land. But for Colombians, coffee production is not just an industry, it is also an integral part of their national identity.

Due to the huge differences in coffee varieties and growing areas, no two Colombian coffees are the same. However, they are usually mild, with distinct aromas, bright acidity and smooth, rich and full-bodied wines, making them ideal for espresso mixtures to balance other stronger flavors that may overwhelm the taste.

Green Colombian boutique coffee beans have a wide range of uses and can be roasted lightly, moderately or deeply according to taste. Light roasting tends to work best because it retains bright acidity, delicate floral and citrus qualities, and chocolate and caramel flavors. Medium to deep baking produces stronger aromas and sweeter, more full-bodied cocoa flavors.