The 30-second version: A medium-roast washed Colombia from smallholder farms around Medellín — dried orange, berry, chocolate. The benchmark single origin: balanced, not polarizing, tastes clearly like a place. Brew 1:16 at 200°F; pour-over is our favorite for tasting the orange.
What makes this coffee different
Castillo, Caturra, Colombia, and Typica varietals, grown in volcanic-loam highlands at 1,300–1,500m, fully washed and dried in solar dryers. That washed process is the whole story: it scrubs the cup clean so the origin character comes through — dried orange up front, dark berry in the middle, chocolate in the finish. This is the cup we hand someone who asks what "single origin" actually means. It doesn't challenge you. It just tastes like Antioquia.
Match your grind
- Whole Bean — grind fresh per method below.
- Standard — drip machine, pour-over.
- Coarse — French press, cold brew.
- Espresso — espresso machine or moka pot.
Grind targets for whole bean: drip/pour-over = medium (sea salt), French press = coarse (breadcrumbs), espresso = fine (table salt), cold brew = extra coarse (peppercorns).
The recipes
Pour-over — taste the orange. 20g coffee, 320g water at 200°F, medium-fine grind. Bloom 45 seconds, slow spirals to 320g by 1:30, drawdown ~3:15. The paper filter keeps the cup clean so the dried-orange note leads — this is the method the coffee was made for.
Drip machine — the everyday cup. 1:16, Standard or medium grind, 200°F. Balanced and easy. This is the "house coffee" version and there's nothing wrong with that.
French press — rounder, deeper. 1:15 (30g to 450g), Coarse grind, 200°F, 4 minutes. The berry and chocolate move forward; the orange steps back. A different coffee, same bag.
Espresso — clean and sweet. 18g in, 36g out, 25–30 seconds. Balanced shot, chocolate-forward with an orange flicker at the end. Lovely as a cortado — the milk sweetens without burying the origin.
The thing most people get wrong: muddying it
Washed coffees are about clarity, and two things steal it: a dirty brewer (old oils in the machine or press) and drowning the cup in milk or sugar before tasting it black. Brew it clean, taste it black first — that's where the "oh, *that's* single origin" moment lives.
Dial it in
- Flat or dull → grind finer or nudge water to 202°F; washed coffees go quiet when under-extracted.
- Too sharp → coarsen up slightly or drop to 197°F.
- Can't find the fruit → try the pour-over. Immersion methods (French press) round fruit notes off.
Storage
Sealed bag, room temperature, away from light. Once opened, at its best within 3–4 weeks. Whole bean holds peak a little longer than pre-ground — one more reason to grind fresh.
The ritual
Morning benchmark. This is the cup you brew when you want to remember what good coffee tastes like before the day starts negotiating.
*Every bag of Colombia Single Origin helps fund our mission supporting shelter animals — $1 from every order goes to rescue partners.*