COLOMBIE - EXCELSO - CAFE GRAIN

Colombia has only one specialty grade: Excelso.

The country has harmonized its different coffee productions under a single name and a quality respected worldwide.

The cup is bright, yet always smooth and aromatic, in perfect balance.

Our opinion: this is the benchmark coffee—perfectly balanced, not necessarily bursting with flavor, but with a lingering finish that commands respect.

• Coffee intensity Balanced
• Coffee bitterness 3/5
• Coffee acidity 3/5
• Coffee body 4/5
• Coffee aroma 3/5
• Coffee origin South America
• Coffee species Arabica
• Roasting country France
• Country of production Colombia
• Form Whole bean

What makes Excelso coffee from Colombia special:

Colombia ranks among the world's largest coffee producers, after Vietnam and Brazil. Thanks to the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation, the quality of its product, and the strong promotion of its expertise, Colombia can now market its coffee under the specific designation “Café de Colombia.”

Coffee production in Colombia is concentrated mainly in the western and central parts of the country. Excelso, meanwhile, grows primarily in the Coffee Triangle, an isolated region with high mountains. The coffee we offer grows at an altitude of 1,800 to 2,000 meters, which gives it its exceptional smoothness.

Types of coffee in Colombia:

Coffee arrived in the country in the early 19th century and was first planted along the Andes mountain range. Several varieties are grown across the country, including Bourbon, Typica, and Caturra. The climate is also ideal for coffee farming. The two flowering periods each year are in April and October. The main coffee harvest in the country takes place in October and can continue through February.

How Excelso coffee from Colombia is prepared:

The beans for this specialty coffee are wet-processed. As in many other countries, they are then dried in the sun for several weeks and finally in horizontal ovens. Local experts, whose knowledge is passed down from generation to generation, hand-sort the beans. This process ensures that the coffee has very few defects.

Once it arrives in France, our roaster artisanally roasts it using a precise 21-minute roast at 215°C. This roasting method best brings out the coffee's aromas and flavors, unlike industrial roasting.

L’Originel’s roasting method:

Several roasting methods are used in the industry. The two most common are:

The flash method: this technique is used by industrial roasters because it allows them to roast larger quantities in an extremely short time. The process is as follows: coffee beans are roasted in large tubes at several thousand degrees for a few seconds. This roasting process carbonizes the coffee bean, which is immediately plunged into water to stop the roasting and restore some of its density.

L’Originel uses a traditional, artisanal method that respects the product and the aromas it brings out. A specific roast is applied to the coffee based on its origin and the conditions of the year in which it grew, much like wine. The coffee is roasted in drums holding about 20 kilos for around 20 minutes, at temperatures that can reach 230°C.

This French expertise gives the coffee beans a brown, or even slightly lighter, color to enhance their aromas, acidity, and other bitter notes.

Once the coffees arrive at our facilities, they are packed in organic paper packaging in 250 g or 1 kg sizes, depending on our customers’ needs.