Coffee Varieties Grown in Colombia
When coffee growers in Colombia sell their coffee harvest, the price is based on the New York commodity price, the USD to COP exchange rate, and a premium for coffee grown in Colombia. Colombia is the world’s biggest producer of Arabica coffee. Virtually no Robusta is grown in Colombia! The soil, weather conditions, coffee-growing culture, and excellent coffee varieties grown in Colombia all contribute to Colombia producing the largest amounts of the finest coffee in the world.
Coffee Varietals
The taste, aroma, and overall quality of coffee varies from country to country, climate to climate, region to region and coffee farm to coffee farm. Local conditions are important when it comes to coffee quality and so are the coffee varieties that the coffee farmer plants and nurtures. The coffee varieties grown in Colombia are all Arabica, ranging from old, pure, Arabica strains typically grown at the higher altitudes like 6,000 to 8,000 feet and leaf rust-resistant strains that do better at lower altitudes like 3,000 to 4,000 feet.
Coffee Varieties Grown in Colombia
Typica
Typica is the old variety from which most modern varieties were derived. Typica dates back to when coffee was taken from Ethiopia and Yemen to plant throughout the world. Typica is a taller coffee plant that produces beans of excellent quality but a lower-than-average harvest volume.
Bourbon
Bourbon is the other old coffee variety, named for the island in the Indian Ocean where Dutch traders first planted it. Bourbon produces about a fourth more yield than Typica and also has an excellent, sweet, fruity, slightly acidic taste profile. As this variety spread across the world, mutations resulted in three standard sub-varieties, red, yellow, and orange Bourbon. We have written about a cross-bred sub variety, Pink Bourbon, which is a cross between yellow and red Bourbon. Pink Bourbon gives the farmer more coffee per plant and greater resistance to leaf rust.
Caturra
Caturra is a “transplant” that occurred by natural mutation from Red Bourbon around the town of Caturra, Brazil. It is significantly more resistant to leaf rust, a shorter plant with higher yield, commonly planted in lower altitude coffee farms (2,000 feet to 5,000 feet). This coffee has a medium to low body, slight acidity, and with less sweetness than Bourbon. Because of the issues that Colombia had with leaf rust a decade ago, much of the “lower” coffee growing regions were replanted with Caturra. The same is true in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Castillo
Castillo was developed by Cenicafe which is the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation research arm in 2005. Because of leaf rust issues, Cenicafe used a Timor hybrid (leaf rust resistant) and Caturra (somewhat resistant to leaf rust) to produce Castillo. They crossed male Caturra with the female Timor hybrid. This new variety has a high yield, can be grown at both higher and lower altitudes and produces an excellent cup of coffee. Castillo Tambo is a sub variety of Castillo developed by Cenicafe specifically for the departments of Cauca, Nariño, Tolima, Huila, and the Cauca River Valley. Castillo has a citric acidity, is smooth, and has a pleasing aroma.
Colombia
This variety is, like Castillo, a cross between a Timor hybrid and Caturra. It was responsible for helping save Colombia’s coffee industry in the 1980s.Besides being leaf rust resistant, Colombia has a high yield and is a first choice for many small coffee farms. Colombia is full-bodied, sweet, and bright with hints of chocolate and cherry. It was also used as a base for sub varieties of Tabi and Castillo.
Tabi
Tabi is the newest variety to be released by Cenicafe. They crossed Typica, Bourbon, and a Timor hybrid to get a coffee that is typically planted in the higher altitudes like in Caldas, Tolima, and Huila. It produces a tall plant with long branches with larger fruit and coffee beans. Tabi is both leaf rust resistant and an excellent coffee. The name comes from the word for good in the Guambiano dilect (an indigenous tribe in Colombia).
At Buy Organic Coffee we are pleased to be able to provide access to any and all Colombian coffee varieties, both in bulk and artisanal coffees from small, local producers and coffee farms. Contact us at admin@buyorganiccoffee.org for more information.
Wholesale Artisanal Coffee from Colombia
Colombia is the largest producer and exporter of high-quality Arabica coffee in the world. Wholesale coffee from Colombia finds its way into virtually every country. But, what if you are interested in single origin, wholesale artisanal coffee from Colombia? There are individual growers on individual coffee farms in the departments of Caldas, Risaralda, Tolima, Huila, and Quindío who grow specific coffee varieties. These coffees are of extremely high quality, some are certified as organic coffee, and most are organic in everything but name.
What Is Artisanal Coffee?
Single origin coffee beans are what make artisanal coffee unique. Coffee growers limit their production to specific, high-quality coffee varieties. When you drink wholesale artisanal coffee produced on one of these farms, you will enjoy coffee grown in specific soil conditions and at a specific altitude range. Artisanal coffee growers specialize in unique coffee varieties and follow sustainable agricultural practices. They may or may not have bothered to have someone like Bio Latina certify their crops for USDA certification. When you first brew an artisanal coffee, go with a light roast. Do not add milk, cream, or sugar. Taste the black coffee and you will be able to enjoy distinctive flavor profiles that come from specific growing conditions and unique coffee varieties.

Wholesale Artisanal Coffee from Colombia – Buy Organic Coffee
At Buy Organic Coffee, from our location in Manizales, Colombia, we deal directly with individual coffee farmers and small processors to give you access to wholesale artisanal coffee from Colombia. Artisanal coffee commands a higher price than UGQ (usual good quality) Colombian Arabica coffee. This is understandable as the growers frequently sacrifice production volume in order to obtain maximum quality. And, because artisanal coffee is relatively rare, it naturally commands a higher price. However, most of the price markup that a coffee shop in the USA will pay comes from “middlemen” along the supply chain.
Fresh Coffee from Colombia
Another issue with getting artisanal coffee is that your supplier might be buying the coffee, warehousing it, and selling when it gets the best price. Unfortunately, the quality of your artisanal coffee will suffer the longer it is stored. At Buy Organic Coffee we work directly with coffee growers, local processors, and buyers across the globe. We will shorten your supply chain for getting any fresh coffee from Colombia and especially artisanal coffee from this region. When you source your artisanal coffee from Colombia through Buy Organic Coffee you get a better price, guaranteed quality, and personalized service.
How to Roast Artisanal Coffee
Whether you roast your own coffee at home or roast commercially for your coffee shop, use a light roast for artisanal coffee. This will preserve the distinct flavors and aroma that are unique to the altitude, soil conditions, amount of rainfall, and specific coffee variety. Artisanal coffee beans bring you the flavors and characteristics of the soil in which your coffee was grown and these can be lost in a caramelized dark roast.
Contact Buy Organic Coffee in Manizales by sending an email to admin@buyorganiccoffee.org.
Wholesale Artisanal Coffee from Colombia – Slideshare Version
Coffee from Colombia
If you are looking for Arabica coffee, high quality coffee, and lots of it, look for coffee from Colombia. Colombia is the third largest coffee producer and exporter in the world behind Vietnam and Brazil. However, Colombia grows and exports only Arabica coffee and not Robusta. Colombia ranks number one in production and export of the highest-quality Arabica coffee. If, before reading further, you would like to purchase coffee directly from Colombia, send us an email at admin@buyorganiccoffee.org. Buy Organic Coffee works with local producers and processors in the Manizales, Colombia region which is the heart of the Colombian coffee-growing district.
Colombian Coffee History
Coffee growing in Colombia goes back to Spanish Colonial times. A Jesuit priest, José Gumilla first wrote about coffee growing in Colombia in the 1730s. The first record of commercial production was in 1808. The current coffee growing region was only settled in the middle of the 19th century with the founding of Manizales in the department of Caldas. Today the greatest production of Arabica coffee in Colombia takes place in the Western mountains (Andes) of Colombia ranging from Caldas North to the Southern part of Antioquia, West and South to Risaralda, Quindío, and Tolima, and then farther South to high mountains of Huila where Buy Organic Coffee sources its high-quality Pink Bourbon coffee. The historic center of Arabica coffee production is Manizales and is where we, Buy Organic Coffee, your source for ordering coffee from Colombia are located. (Order by emailing us at admin@buyorganiccoffee.org.)

Coffee from Colombia – Colombian Departments
How Do You Get Fresh Coffee from Colombia?
Colombia exports the most Arabica coffee of any country in the world. Thus, you can find Colombian coffee everywhere. However, when millions of tons of coffee are exported they go to warehouses where the coffee sits until it is sold to roasters as part of the supply chain that brings coffee to your favorite coffee shop or to your grocery store. If you see the name Juan Valdez on the label that means your coffee is 100% from Colombia. Juan is a fictional character dreamt up decades ago to promote coffee from Colombia and is well-known along with his burro that is carrying large sacks of coffee. The problem with getting fresh coffee is that after your coffee from Colombia goes down the hill with Juan from the coffee farm and is processed at the local “trilladora” to remove the husk, it may sit for a long time before it is processed during which time it will lose freshness.
Contact Buy Organic Coffee by emailing us at admin@buyorganiccoffee.org to get coffee directly from Colombia that was not sitting for years in a warehouse. Contact us for coffee that is, at the longest, from the most recent harvest (twice a year in Colombia).
If you are visiting Manizales or anywhere in Colombia, you can purchase high-quality Arabica coffee in a grocery store. The easiest way to get organic coffee is to visit a Juan Valdez coffee shop and purchase a bag or two. You can take the coffee back home with you in your suitcase but don’t be surprised when the authorities at the airport in Bogota pin prick your bags of coffee and pass them in front of a mechanical drug sniffer or a drug-sniffing dog. (You don’t want the dog to sit down which is what it does when it recognizes cocaine or marijuana!)
If you would like us to send you a four-pack of grocery store coffee from Colombia by mail, send us an email to admin@buyorganiccoffee.org.
Our price for this sample pack is $30 for the coffee and $30 for mailing to anywhere in the USA.
Coffee from Colombia – Slideshare Version
How to Buy Great Fresh Coffee
Learn how to buy great fresh coffee and every morning cup of Java will be a delight. To get the best and freshest coffee you need to pay attention to several things, starting with the coffee bean. Coffee is fresh when it is first harvested and processed. Green coffee beans that are properly stored (cool and dry) retain their freshness for up to three years. By comparison, roasted coffee beans retain their freshness for up to six months. In each case, the sooner after harvest (and roasting) that you purchase your coffee, the fresher it will be. Average coffee that is fresh is better than so-called gourmet coffee that sat on the shelf for months or years!
Avoid Old Warehoused Coffee
Almost a decade ago we wrote about how the government in Brazil was paying farmers to store their green coffee beans instead of flooding the market. Coffee prices were down and holding back coffee production from the market helped support prices. That was in 2012. A follow-up note is that coffee prices went up a few years later and coffee farmers in Brazil started to sell their stored coffee. Unfortunately, coffee that is six or eight years old has pretty much lost its flavor and any antioxidants of value. The same problem arises when you purchase coffee in the USA, Europe, Japan, or any other coffee-drinking region where they are not coffee producers as well. You typically do not know how long your coffee sat in the warehouse before roasting and how long it has been in the bag after roasting.
Fresh Coffee from the Source
Your best way to guarantee the freshness of your coffee is to buy it from as close to the source as possible. At Buy Organic Coffee we offer fresh coffee from Colombia. Because we work with local coffee farmers and small processors, we can provide you with fresh coffee beans, green or roasted, that are from the most recent harvest. Because Colombia harvests coffee every six months, our coffee from the source may be just off the mountain or at least within six months of harvest.

How to Buy Great Coffee (and not break the bank)
There are lots of great coffees in the world. And, there are lots of heavily-advertised coffees. Kona coffee from Hawaii, Blue Mountain coffee from Jamaica, and Juan Valdez coffee from Colombia are all great coffees. Blue Mountain sells for $36 for a 16-ounce bag and Royal Kona sells for as much as $90 for a 16-ounce bag. Both of these prices are before shipping. By comparison, we provide Pink Bourbon coffee from Finca La Paula in the department of Huila in Colombia for $12 for each 500 mg (16-ounce) bag. Our guarantee is that your coffee will have been harvested no more than six months before your purchase and very commonly will have been harvested within the month.
Why Buy Great Fresh Coffee from Colombia
There are lots of great coffees in the world. The best coffees are all Arabica varieties. Unfortunately, many places that grow good coffee do not grow much of it. The place in the world where they grow the most Arabica coffee is in the mountains of Colombia. Colombian coffee history goes back more than two centuries. Not only does coffee grow in rich volcanic soil with plenty of rainfall in Colombia but the coffee-growing culture goes back generations. An excellent example is Pink Bourbon coffee which is a hybrid of red and yellow bourbon. This carefully crossbred coffee is more resistant to coffee leaf rust and has spicy-jasmine notes with a hint of caramel. Because there is so much great coffee produced in Colombia, prices for artisanal coffees are very reasonable and standard coffees are cheap compared to equally good but heavily–advertised coffees from elsewhere in the coffee belt.
How to Buy Great Fresh Coffee – Slideshare Version
All About Coffee
Coffee is a beverage brewed from the seed (bean) of the Coffea plant. More than half of all Americans over the age of 18 drink coffee every day. Americans average 3 cups a day and spend about $40 billion a year on their coffee. (Harvard School of Public Health)
The History of Coffee: Ethiopian Legend to Modern Genetic Testing
In Ethiopia, they tell the story of Kaldi the goat herder who saw his goats become energized by eating berries from a tree. The legend has it that Kaldi tried the same berries and experienced the same effect. He then reported this finding to the abbot of a local monastery who made a drink of the berries and thus became the first person to drink coffee. According to the legend, the berries and the drink spread from monastery to monastery, and eventually beyond Ethiopia.
Recorded history tells us that by the 1400’s coffee was grown and traded on the Arabian Peninsula and by the 1500’s people were drinking coffee in Turkey, Syria, Egypt, and Persia (Iran). By the 1600’s coffee arrived in Europe where the clergy in Venice condemned the drink and asked the Pope to intervene. Pope Clement VIII tried the “bitter invention of Satan,” liked it, and gave coffee the papal seal of approval. (National Coffee Association)
Modern researchers have trekked the highland of East Africa in search of wild coffee. The genetic testing done on these wild varieties of coffee indicates that Arabica coffee originated in the Southeastern area of evergreen forests in the mountainous Sidarno and Harar provinces of Ethiopia. The same testing indicates that Arabica coffee was taken to Yemen and the Southern Arabian Peninsula and grown there as the next step in its spread around the world. (Researchgate.net) The researchers make no mention, however, about Kaldi or his goats!

What about the Plants That Give Us Coffee?
Scientifically, coffee is a woody perennial evergreen dicotyledon that belongs to the Rubiaceae family. You can now forget that part. What is more important to us coffee drinkers is that there are two main coffee species, Coffea Arabica (Arabica coffee) and Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee). (CoffeeResearch.org). Robusta is more hardy, more prolific, more disease-resistant, and does not taste as good. Robusta also has more caffeine.
Arabica is less prolific, less hardy, more prone to diseases like coffee leaf rust, and has less caffeine. But Arabica tastes significantly better than Robusta, so your gourmet coffee brands are almost always Arabica.
Coffee does not survive freezing temperatures. So, all coffee is grown in the tropics (where it does not freeze) in what is called “The Bean Belt” or “Coffee Belt.” This is , between 25 degrees North latitude and 30 degrees South latitude. Arabica is grown at higher altitudes, at lower temperatures, and in richer soil. Robusta grows better at lower altitudes, at higher temperatures, and can tolerate poorer soil. (National Coffee Association).

Economics: The Money Aspects of Coffee
- Worldwide coffee consumption is about 500 billion cups a year
- Most coffee is consumed in economically developed nations
- 90% of coffee is grown in developing nations
- 25 million people make their living on coffee farms
- The fastest growing niche in the restaurant business is coffee shops
- Northern Europeans rank highest for who drinks the most coffee per capita
- The USA consumes the most coffee of any nation
The Whole Process from Planting the Coffee Seed to Your Cup of Java
Yes, Coffee Starts with a Seed (the coffee bean)
To grow coffee, a coffee farmer plants the beans (seeds) in moist and shaded soil. This is typically done in a nursery where the seedlings are protected from bright sunlight and watered often. When the plants are strong enough, they are planted in the field. Farmers do this in the rainy season to let the coffee plant establish its root structure before the soil dries out.
Waiting and Then Picking Coffee
When the coffee farmer plants coffee, he needs to wait for the plant to mature before he can get a coffee crop. Coffee takes three to four years to mature and produce fruit, the coffee cherry. Coffee is ready to pick when the cherry is a deep and bright red. And, when the coffee cherry is ripe, there is also a distinctive odor in the field, another indication that the time is right to bring in the coffee crop. In most coffee growing regions, there is one harvest a year. However, in some countries like Colombia, Arabica coffee has a primary and a secondary harvest each year.
The large and flat coffee fields in Brazil are commonly strip picked by machine. In mountainous regions at altitudes of 3,000 feet to 7,000 feet, coffee pickers climb up and down the slopes picking by hand. A hand picker can also strip the plant of all of its cherries or selectively pick just the ripest cherries. Selective picking is used for high-quality Arabica coffees and requires that the picker return every week to ten days to pick again. A picker can bring in between 100 and 200 pounds of cherries a day. After processing this is between 20 and 40 pounds of coffee.
Soaking and Raking the Coffee: Processing and Drying
The coffee farmer needs to process his picked coffee quickly. Otherwise, it starts to spoil. A few bad beans, called “stinkers” can ruin a batch of coffee. There are two ways to process coffee, dry and wet.

Dry Coffee Processing: Sunlight, Raking, and Time
Dry processing is pretty basic. The cherries are spread out in the sun. A worker rakes the beans frequently to turn them over and make sure that all of them are drying. And, the workers must cover the beans in case of rain and at night so that the morning dew does not moisten the coffee again. They keep doing this until the cherries are dried to 11 percent moisture content. This can take several weeks! Small coffee farms in dry areas and coffee farmers without a lot of money use this process.
Wet Coffee Processing: First You Soak the Coffee but You Still Need to Dry It!
With wet processing, the cherries are fed into a pulping machine. This separates pulp and skin from the coffee bean. Beans are separated by weight using water channels where heavy beans sink and light beans float. Then, the beans are separated by size using a series of screens or rotating drums.
For wet processing, the beans are left in fermentation tanks filled with water for up to 48 hours. This removes another layer called the parenchyma and a layer of mucilage on the parchment. Then the beans are rinsed one more time before drying.
Wet processed coffee beans can be dried by the sun to 11% moisture content as is done with dry processing. On a large commercial coffee farm, they will tumble dry the coffee in drying machines.
When the coffee beans are dry, they are still encased in a layer of parchment and are called parchment coffee.
One More Step: Milling the Coffee Beans
The parchment is removed from the coffee bean by a specialized hulling machine. Another optional step is polishing which removes any loose bits of silver skin from the bean. In Latin America, the company that does this is called a “trilladora” and is also a company that sells or exports coffee.

Getting the Sizes Right: Sorting and Grading Coffee
At this point, the coffee beans are sorted by size. This is done by passing them over screens of decreasing size. Larger beans such as Colombian Supremo are considered superior and command a higher price. Defective beans are removed by hand and the coffee is ready for sale or export.
Exporting Coffee for Your Cup of Java
To make export cost-effective, green coffee beans are packed in jute or sisal bags and loaded into shipping containers. Alternatively, the beans are loaded into plastic lined containers for shipping.
(National Coffee Association)
Where Is Your Coffee Grown?
Coffee comes from the “Bean Belt” roughly between to Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The biggest exporters are Vietnam, Brazil, Colombia, and Honduras.
June 2018 Exports in Thousands of 60 KG Bags
- Vietnam: 2,575
- Brazil: 2,548
- Colombia: 918
- Honduras: 856
- Ethiopia: 599
- India: 591
- Uganda: 320
- Mexico: 300
- Nicaragua: 300
- Indonesia: 250
- Peru: 240
Sixty percent of coffee exports are Arabica coffee and forty percent are Robusta coffee. The big news this year is that Vietnam passed Brazil in their total volume of coffee exports. However, Vietnam produces Robusta coffee while Brazil produces both Arabica and Robusta. The leading producers of Arabica coffee are Brazil, Colombia, and Honduras.

The August 1, 2018, Arabica mild coffee price was $132.70 for 100 pounds while Robusta was $83.70 for 100 pounds.
You may not know this, but much of Vietnam’s Robusta output is purchased for the caffeine that goes into soft drinks like Coca Cola! (NPR)
(International Coffee Organization)
Social Issues Relating to Coffee
It used to be that coffee was coffee and nobody worried much about where it came from or how it was produced. But, that has changed. We have gotten accustomed to drinking better coffee and even buying gourmet coffee brands. And, we have learned more over the years about the effects of how coffee is grown. These effects have to do with impurities in the coffee we drink, deforestation of tropical forests, degradation of the soil and water tables in coffee growing regions, and the near poverty in which many coffee farmers and workers live. Thus, many coffee drinkers are fussier about the quality and safety of the coffee they drink and about social issues like fair prices for small coffee farmers and preservation of habitat for migratory birds.
Fair Trade Coffee: A Fair Deal for Small Coffee Farmers and Their Workers
People drink coffee all over the world. But nine-tenths of all coffee production comes from developing countries. While twenty-five million people work in the coffee business, many work for subsistence wages. And, coffee is a commodity with a price determined in trading markets far from where it is grown. It was after the collapse of coffee prices in the 1980s that Fairtrade was started.
As the Fairtrade website states,
Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.
The goal of Fairtrade is to guarantee predictable and better prices for coffee farmers as well as better wages, working conditions, and lives for workers at the base of the coffee industry.
As we mention in our article about Fair Trade Coffee,
None of these growers have the pricing power to gain a better market share or better price. They are largely at the mercy of a global supply chain. And the profits increase as one ascends the supply chain away from the coffee farmer.
Many coffee drinkers drink Fairtrade coffees because they are good coffees and because there seems to be more social justice in the Fairtrade movement than with other coffees.
Bird Safe Coffee: Preserving Rainforest Habitat for Birds
When farmers clear land in the tropical rainforest to plant coffee or other crops, they destroy the habitat where birds live. These are both local species and ones that migrate with the seasons. One of the important shade grown coffee benefits is that preserving the trees gives the birds a place to live!
Forested coffee farms are bio-rich buffer zones for plants, flowers, and wildlife that are at risk as a result of deforestation and poor land management. Planting coffee under the existing forest canopy results in a high-quality coffee.
The Smithsonian Institution has taken up the cause of the birds with their Bird Friendly® coffee certification.
The Bird Friendly® program aims to protect the most quality habitat from the threat of deforestation under the Bird Friendly seal. Bird Friendly coffees come from farms using a combination of foliage cover, tree height, and biodiversity to provide quality habitat for birds and other wildlife.
As with Fair Trade coffee, people drink these coffees because they are excellent shade grown coffees and to help protect the environment for the birds.
Sustainable Coffee Farming: Saving the Land for the Next Generation
A coffee farmer loves growing coffee. It is a labor of love. But, coffee farming is also a business. Many large coffee farmers clear-cut the land, use synthetic fertilizers, and apply pesticides and herbicides to increase their yield. These techniques increase the amount of coffee they grow and improve their short-term profits. Unfortunately, pesticides and herbicides seep into the ground and the water table. Clear-cut land is often subject to erosion.
Coffee farmers who want to pass their farms on to the next generation are more likely to practice sustainable coffee farming in order to protect the water table and preserve their land.
If you want to support farmers who practice sustainable coffee farming, drink organic, shade grown, and Fair Trade coffees as these coffees are grown using sustainable agricultural practices. Or, support the many Colombian coffee farmers who practice sustainable coffee farming without being certified by anyone.
Organic Coffee: Good for You and Good for the Environment
The best organic coffee brands have several things in common.
- Climate, soil, elevation
- A culture of growing coffee
- Certification
- Aroma, flavor, and antioxidants
- Dedication to growing the best coffee
Growing organic coffee protects the environment and produces a cup of coffee free of many potential contaminants such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. You will like your organic coffee because it is the most often excellent Arabica. You will be safe drinking organic coffee because it is free of unwanted chemicals. And, you can feel good about drinking organic coffee because you can protect the environment for future generations.
To make sure that you are getting organic coffee, look for evidence of certification on the container. The gold standard for organic coffee certification is the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture. Look for their seal to make sure that the coffee you are buying is certified organic.

The Rise of Specialty and Gourmet Coffee
The early rise of gourmet and specialty coffee can be traced back to Alfred Peet.
At a time when a cup of coffee was just a cup of coffee, Alfred Peet introduced us to the concept that coffee could be special. Alfred Peet taught us that the quality of coffee and its sourcing are important.
According to the (Investor’s Business Daily), Alfred Peet was a pioneer who brewed better coffee in America. He traveled to coffee growing regions and visited the farms. He sourced his coffee, bringing back the best to roast and brew for his customers. This was in the 1950’s and 1960’s in Berkley, California. Today, it is hard to pass through a major city without running into a Starbucks, Tully’s, Costa, or Caribou as well as countless neighborhood coffee houses serving specialty and gourmet coffees.
We referenced the Investor’s Business Daily article because coffee houses are the fastest growing niche in the restaurant business! Local coffee shops and large chains sell first and second wave coffee. What is this all about?
First Wave Coffee: Roasted, Ground, Ready to Brew
First wave coffee refers to companies like Folgers and Maxell House who sold mass produced coffee from the late 1800s to the late 1900’s. This coffee was roasted, ground, and ready to brew. The first wave also produced instant coffee, vacuum packed coffee, and drip coffee makers. The quality was not always so good, but no one noticed because there was little competition in the USA until the likes of Alfred Peet and others changed the game.
Second Wave Coffee: Sourced, Better Coffee, Gourmet Brands, Organic
After Alfred Peet, others picked up on the idea that coffee drinkers would pay more for a really good coffee that was freshly roasted and brewed.
The rise of Coffee house coffee in the USA also had its roots in Europe after World War II when GIs tasted espresso for the first time. The term “Americano” comes from the fact that American soldiers were used to the coffee that mom made back on the farm in Iowa, lots of it but not so strong. Europeans learned to dilute the espresso with water for these “Americanos.”
A coffee shop chain like Starbucks serves second wave coffee. Their coffee is sourced, roasted on site, and served as espresso, latte, mocha, and other variations to customers who come back again and again for reliably good coffee.
Third Wave Coffee: Which Farm, What Altitude, What Kind of Soil?
The Third Wave is very recent. Coffee connoisseurs learn the exact farm on which their coffee was grown. They become experts regarding altitude, soil, and production methods. Coffee tastings similar to wine tastings are common in coffee shops catering to the Third Wave. But, is Third Wave coffee really better, or just an expensive fad? There are coffee lovers who will visit a Third Wave coffee house for tastings but still regularly frequent their favorite local coffee house.
(Craft Beverage Jobs, the History of First, Second, and Third Wave Coffee)
Why Is Coffee Good for Your Health?
Once upon a time, we drank coffee to wake up in the morning and stay awake at work, or on long cross-country trips in the car. Too much coffee gave us the jitters and if we had high blood pressure the doctor said to cut out the coffee.
This has all changed! Researchers have uncovered a whole host of regular and organic coffee health benefits.
Would you like to reduce your risk of type II diabetes? Drink more coffee.
And, coffee appears to reduce the incidence of cancer of the prostate, liver, endometrium, and mouth and throat. (American Cancer Society)
Drinking coffee has been linked to a lower likelihood of developing degenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia. And there is evidence that at any point in life you can reduce your incidence of dying in the next few years by drinking coffee. (Circulation)
What interests many coffee drinkers are two more health benefits of drinking coffee, better athletic performance and better sex!
Most health benefits of coffee start at just a cup a day and increase up to about six cups. For better athletic performance, a cup or two before working out will be enough.

The Coffee World Moves On with Better Coffee at Home and Roasting Your Own
As we taste better coffee in the coffee shop or even in McDonald’s, many of us are no longer satisfied with our old Folgers or Maxwell House coffee at home. As a result, we buy gourmet coffee, organic coffee, Fair Trade coffee, and coffees from the far reaches of the world. We compare coffee from Ethiopia with coffee from Brazil. We try making Turkish coffee, organic Irish coffee, or café de olla to go with Mexican food.
And, we buy green coffee beans and roast our coffee at home! That becomes an adventure as we start with an old popcorn popper and end up putting out fires! Then, we move on to real home coffee roasters and become experts in first and second crack, the smell of roasting coffee, and learning just the right roasting profile for pink bourbon coffee from Huila, Colombia as opposed to mountain grown coffee from Caldas, Colombia.

BuyOrganicCoffee.org: Useful Coffee Insights and Information for Coffee Lovers
At BuyOrganicCoffee.org we observe the world of coffee. We write about the world of coffee. And, we try to provide you, our readers, with information you need regarding coffee, and coffee-related products. Our hope and our goal are to help you find the coffee you want whether it is organic, Fair Trade, Bird Friendly, or just sustainably grown.
When you need accurate and insightful information about roasting coffee and coffee roasters, we will provide it on our site. Likewise, we will post reviews about other coffee-related products from time to time.
If you have a question about coffee, organic coffee, or the equipment needed to produce a great cup of coffee at home, please feel free to leave a comment on our site or send us an email at admin@buyorganiccoffee.org.
We will get back to you and may even feature your question, and our answer, in one of our blogs!
All About Coffee – Slideshare Version
Coffee Roasting
Coffee roasting turns green coffee into the dark brown aromatic beans used to make your cup of morning cup of java. The green coffee beans you start out with are spongy and smell a little like grass. With coffee roasting a series of chemical processes take place that totally change the flavor and aroma of the coffee bean.
More than a hundred different chemical and physical changes happen during coffee roasting. And, more seem to be discovered with each passing year. The basic changes are these.
- Decomposition of sucrose
- Loss of free water
- Decrease in total protein
- Loss of chlorogenic acid
- Decomposition of trigonelline
- Formation of melanoidins, lactones, aliphatic acids, aromatic components
Coffee Roasts
Coffee roasting at successively higher temperatures and for more time creates successive changes that alter the quality of the roast. The finished roast is classified as mild, medium, medium-dark, or dark.
Light Roasts
This level of roast has a light-brown color. They are removed from the roaster before any oil breaks through the surface of the bean. Use this level of roast for milder varieties of coffee in order not to lose their subtle taste and aroma.
- Light City
- Half City
- Cinnamon
Medium Roasts
A medium roast has a deeper brown color and stronger flavor than a light roast. It also has a non-oily surface. This is the level of roast most often preferred in the USA and is also referred to as the “American Roast.”
- City
- American
- Breakfast
Medium-dark Roast
With this roast some oil comes to the surface of the dark brown bean. The taste of this roast is deeper and richer. And, a medium-dark roast is where you will begin to experience a bitter-sweet aftertaste.
- Full City
Dark Roasts
At this level of roast the almost-black bean is shiny due to coffee oil that has broken through to the surface of the bean. Dark roasts are noticeably bitter. As a rule, coffee becomes less acidic with successively darker roasts. This level of roast ranges from a very dark brown bean to a charred bean!
- High
- Continental
- New Orleans
- European
- Espresso
- Viennese
- Italian
- French
The level of roast you aim for in your home roasting will vary with your taste. Your results will depend on your level of experience with the coffee roasting process.
Some folks believe that richer flavored dark roasts have more caffeine. Actually, a bit of caffeine is lost with a dark roast. Your caffeine concentration is highest with a light roast!
Coffee Roasting Milestones: First and Second Crack
First Crack
When you pre-heat the coffee roaster and then add the beans, the temperature falls. The beans are absorbing the heat! As the beans heat up their water also starts to evaporate. The chlorophyll, anthocyanins, and other green plant constituents break down and the bean loses its green tint to become more golden or yellow. At this time the coffee loses its “grass-like” aroma and smells more like toasted bread or even popcorn.
When the interior of the beans reaches the boiling point of water, 100 degrees Celsius or 212 degree Fahrenheit, the remaining water in the coffee beans comes to a boil and creates steam and pressure. As more and more beans come to this point you can hear many of them “pop” all at the same time. This popping is called the “first crack.”
This is when the bean gets larger to as much as twice its original size. You will start to smell aromas that you normally associate with coffee. The bean moisture content is now down to the three to five percent range (from its original ten to twelve percent).
If you want to be really fancy, at this point the coffee has an Agtron value of around 90. This is a way to measure the color of the bean in the near-infrared end of the light spectrum and is used in industry for quality control purposes. (Coffee Review)We really do not think you will want to go this far into the high-tech world in your home coffee roasting!
Second Crack
While the first crack is caused by steam building up in the coffee bean, the second crack comes from the production of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and other gases. These are produced during the chemical breakdown of fats, proteins, and sugars within the coffee bean.
The second crack occurs around 225 to 230 degrees Celsius or 437 to 446 degrees Fahrenheit. Here is where the beans start to become shiny as coffee oils break through to the surface of the coffee bean.
How far you take your coffee beans in this process depends on the level of roast that you want. When you get to the roast level you like, you turn off the heat and transfer the beans to a cooling container or surface. This needs to be done promptly because otherwise the beans will continue to a darker roast than you intended.
Ideally, you want to grind and brew your coffee as soon as possible after roasting. Roasted whole bean coffee retains a reasonable degree of freshness for up to six weeks when properly stored. But, the best and freshest coffee is right after you have roasted it.
Roasting Your Own Coffee at Home
It is equal parts science and performance art when you are roasting coffee. You need to know what you are doing any why. And then, every time you roast a few beans, you need to listen, be aware of the changes in aroma, and move safely and promptly to cool the beans to stop the roast at the appropriate time.
Professional coffee roasters do this for years and many grew up families in the coffee business, like Juan Fernando Hoyos Alzate in Manizales, Colombia.

Roasting Coffee in Manizales, Colombia
A few seconds delay can turn a great batch of gourmet coffee into motel and institutional coffee! Not paying attention to the first and second crack or changes in aroma, as well as the temperature, can absolutely ruin a batch of perfectly good beans.
You are certainly allowed to go right out and buy a home coffee roaster if you like. But, a good way to learn the basics of coffee roasting is to start with the basics and then progress to a more automated approach.
Manual Coffee Roasting: The “Popcorn Popper” Route
In places like Ethiopia and the mountains of Mexico, they traditionally roast the coffee beans in a pan over an open fire, grind them up, and brew coffee all in one sitting. So, when you decide to go the manual coffee roasting route, you are in good company.
Use the same sort of device you would use to pop popcorn. No, not the microwave! You will need to shake or stir the pot or cast iron skillet or use an old popcorn popper with a mechanism for stirring.
Manual coffee roasting really is a bit like popping popcorn. Just don’t use the microwave and don’t add any cooking oil!
Note: You can get some smoke when you roast coffee, especially when aiming for a dark roast. It is a good idea to roast your coffee in a well ventilated area, with open windows, or with an exhaust fan turned on.
The skin or parchment that covers the bean dries and detaches when you roast. Some may fly around when you roast manually and, when you use a home coffee roaster, you need to routinely remove it to prevent fires!
Like popcorn, coffee gets bigger when you roast it and becomes lighter due to water loss.
Manual Coffee Roasting Equipment
- Kitchen scale
- Clock, watch or timer
- Thermometer able to read up to 500 degree Fahrenheit
- Oven mitts or hot pads
- Cooling rack
- Roasting pan or metal colander
- Paper and pencil to write down the route you took to the perfect roast
- Airtight container for storing coffee
Manual Coffee Roasting Steps
Measure out the beans
- Use three to four ounces of green coffee
- Remember that beans will expand to as much as three times their original volume
- You will want the coffee beans to be no more than three layers deep while roasting
- If you are using a popcorn popper with a crank stirrer, eight ounces is good
Keep track of what you are doing
- Method used
- Heating method and settings
- Time to first crack and duration
- Time to second crack and duration (only for dark roasts)
- Roasting container temperature of or beans at each step
- Aromas and color at critical times
- Time spent cooling the coffee
- Color and roast level
The Coffee Roasting Process
- Turn on your stove to medium which is just over 400 degree Fahrenheit.
- Add the beans once you have achieved roasting temperature
- Shake or stir the beans with a wooden spoon or crank the popcorn popper
- Watch the temperature
- Watch the beans for color changes
- Listen
- Note the changes in aroma
- For most home roasting you will remove after the first crack
When to Remove from Heat
- The color is right (from experience)
- The aroma is right (from experience)
- The sound is right (first crack or second crack)
- Temperature is right (from experience)
- Expected time has elapsed (from your notes)
Now, use your oven mitts and pour the roasted coffee into a colander or large pan to cool. Stir occasionally while the beans cool off. Blowing a small fan across the cooling beans will help remove any remaining chaff.
When the beans are down to room temperature, move them to an air-tight container. Ideally use something like a zip lock bag that can expand. Let them rest for at least four hours and for as long as three days. Having said that, you are absolutely allowed to grind a few of your newly roasted coffee beans to brew a cup, or two, or three of coffee!
Roasting coffee the manual way can be fun and even an adventure. But, with time we will get tired of this approach and start looking for a home coffee roaster and a more “automated” and “reproducible” approach to coffee roasting.
Roasting with a Home Coffee Roaster
Using a coffee roaster allows you to more easily control temperature and roasting time. And, most home roasters let you keep track of your favorite roasting profiles so that you do not have to guess each time you roast a new batch.
There are two basic types of coffee roasters, fluid bed and drum.
A drum coffee roaster consists of a rotating chamber that tumbles the green coffee beans as they roast. A fluid bed coffee roaster, also called a hot air roaster, forces very hot air through the roasting chamber. The air will typically enter from the bottom of the chamber and thereby lift and continually mix the beans for an even roast. Or the air can enter from the side of a rotating chamber such as with the Gene Café CBR models.
Coffee roasting with a home roaster takes the coffee through the same roasting steps as when you roast manually. What you are looking for with a home coffee roaster is an easier, more automated process that you can reproduce each time you want to roast a batch of coffee.
The ideal home coffee roaster lets you record several roasting profiles that you can return to time and time again for the various roasts you like the best.
With a home coffee roaster, however, you need to do more maintenance. These devices can even catch on fire if not routinely cleaned properly!
Fluid Bed Coffee Roasters vs Drum Roasters
Any roaster where forced air moves and heats the coffee beans is a fluid bed roaster. Many believe that you reliably get a “brighter” roast with a fluid bed as opposed to a drum roaster.
Drum roasters are more common in large commercial settings or in specialty coffee shops. They consist of a large drum that rotates and mixes the coffee as it roasts. According to Michael Sivetz who invented the fluid bed roasting method, the chaff that separates from the beans and remains in the drum carbonizes and forms potentially carcinogenic (cancer causing) chemicals. The chaff is blown out of the roasting chamber with a fluid bed system. (This theory is yet to be proven true.)
Which is better for you?
Drum Roasters
The design of a drum roaster is relatively simple and this contributes to the fact that it is the more-economical method of coffee roasting. A rotating cylindrical drum is heated from under the drum or in the center via a pipe or conduit. The heat source can be electrical or natural gas. The advanced models in use today have “profile controllers” that set temperature and timing for any given roasting profile.
This roaster heats partially by conduction of heat from the wall of the drum directly to the coffee beans (about 25%). But most of the heating is via convection of hot air and beans mixing and creating air movement within the drum (75%). A typical drum roaster measures two temperatures, the flame or electric heating element temperature and the temperature (using a thermocouple) within the roasting chamber. Here is a basic drum roaster diagram courtesy of Coffee Chemistry.

Drum Coffee Roaster Diagram: credit, Probat
Drum roasters are typically very reliable and can produce vast amounts of roasted coffee in commercial settings.
Problems with drum roasters happen with extreme temperatures and uneven distribution of heat within the drum. Scorching of part of the coffee batch can be a problem. In unusual circumstances, an uneven distribution of the beans can cause tipping as well. Obviously, this could be a dangerous issue with an extremely hot machine in your home. Setting the drum to rotate too rapidly and excessively high heat settings are risky as the centrifugal force may push the beans against one side of the drum and scorch them and make the roaster unstable.
Commercial drum roasters can roast as much as 5,000 pounds in each batch. A unit designed for home coffee roasting often roasts 200 to 500 grams (up to a pound) of beans.
Fluid Bed Coffee Roasters
This type of coffee roaster has been around since the 1970s. This is a tall cylinder in which the coffee beans are heated by forced hot air entering from the bottom. The coffee beans are lifted and mixed by the constant stream of hot air allowing for a uniform distribution of heat. All of the heating in this system is from convection. People who have used both methods often prefer the roast characteristics of this method.
Nice features of a fluid bed roaster are ease of cleaning, reduced roast time (about half), and better uniformity of the roast. Although supporters of this coffee roasting method say it makes a better cup of coffee, blind comparisons (where both methods are tested side by side) fails to confirm this opinion.
Here is a diagram of a fluid bed roaster courtesy of Mt. Hood Roasters.

Diagram of a Fluid Bed Coffee Roaster
Both roasters need to be cleaned routinely. If you do not clean out the drum, the residual chaff and coffee oils give the next batch a bitter taste. If you do not clean out the chaff collector (chaff “can” in the diagram) you will get smoke and even fires. It is not a mistake that when you read the fine print that comes with your new coffee roaster, it says to keep a fire extinguisher handy!
When learning the art and science of coffee roasting, it is not a bad thing to start by roasting a few beans in a cast iron skillet or old popcorn popper. Many find that they can better appreciate the coffee roasting process without having too much technology in the way.
Whether you decide to go with a drum roaster or the fluid bed design, read the directions carefully and make sure you are setting up correctly. These devices by their very nature generate a lot of heat. Even with a push button highly computerized roaster, keep oven mitts handy and be careful, both when loading green beans into a pre-heated roasting chamber and when removing the roasted coffee beans.
The biggest advantage of home coffee roasting with a real coffee roaster instead of the trusty popcorn popper lies in the programming. With most modern home roasters you can try out various roasting profiles and even record them for future use. Your home coffee roaster will let you learn the results of changing the temperature, timing, and even fan levels. And when you get the roast that you like, you can reliably achieve that roast again and again.
Good Coffee Roasting Deserves Good Coffee
But, don’t forget that it all starts with the coffee. Don’t spend hundreds of dollars, or thousands of dollars, on a home coffee roaster only to roast old, stale Robusta coffee beans. The best gourmet coffees brands are almost all Arabica coffees from countries all around the world. Take a little time to learn about great coffee since you are now going to the trouble, and expense, of roasting your own at home.
While it is easy to walk into any grocery store and buy roasted coffee, either whole bean or ground, you will rarely find any green coffee beans. You can find green coffee beans online, but very often the price is rather high. A local coffee roaster has green coffee beans and may be a reliable source for you. Luckily, green coffee beans retain their freshness for a lot longer than roasted coffee beans, providing that you store them in a cool and dry place. This gives you the option of buying green coffee in larger amounts and usually for a better price per pound.
If you have questions about where and how to get green coffee beans suitable for home roasting, feel free to contact us at BuyOrganicCoffee.org by leaving a comment on our site or sending an email to admin@buyorganiccoffee.org or buyorganiccoffee@yahoo.com. We can help you find suppliers in the USA and can even help you get Arabica coffee beans shipped directly from Colombia from the heart of the coffee growing “triangle.” Whenever you have a question about coffee, coffee making, or coffee roasting, let us know and we will be pleased to help.
Where Can I Buy Fresh Coffee from Colombia?
Colombia produces large quantities of the best Arabica coffee in the world. Coffee is best when fresh. So, your question should be, where can I buy fresh coffee from Colombia? We would like to present a little background to help you with finding the greatest coffee at reasonable prices. The bottom line is that you should buy Arabica coffee directly from Colombia but why is that? First, a little bit about Colombian coffee beans.
Colombian Coffee Beans
Colombian coffee history started in the 18th century when coffee was reported to be grown near the Meta and Orinoco Rivers. Commercial production was first reported in the early 19th century. But, it was the arrival of coffee growers in the Manizales region that started the development of a coffee-growing center that today produces the most high-quality Arabica coffee in the world. Although there are lots of great coffees in the world, nobody produces the amounts of Arabica coffee that Colombia does along the Andes massif. Rich volcanic soil, lots of rain, excellent drainage (mountain sides), and a coffee-growing culture that goes back nearly two centuries come together to produce the largest amounts of high-quality Arabica coffee in the world. Colombian coffee beans make great coffee and the fresher they are, the better they are.
Coffee Direct from Colombia
Coffee making can be simple or complicated. The best end result depends upon having the best quality coffee (Coffee from Colombia) and the freshest beans (shipped directly from Colombia to you). Green coffee beans retain their freshness for a couple of years when properly stored (cool and dry). Roasted coffee beans retain their freshness for up to six months with the right storage conditions. Ground coffee starts to lose its freshness as soon as air gets in contact with the grounds.
The problem with large commercial quantities of Colombian coffee is that they sit in storage until they are distributed, sold to the consumer, and made into coffee. If you value freshness, you want coffee direct from Colombia. This means that you need to buy from small local roasters (trilladoras) around Manizales, in towns like Chinchina, or around Saladoblanco in the Department of Huila. Or you need to speak Spanish and deal with growers like the Finca La Paula in Huila. Alternatively, you can contact us at Buy Organic Coffee by leaving a comment on our site or sending an email to buyorganiccoffee@yahoo.com.
How to Import Coffee from Colombia
If you are visiting Colombia, you can purchase a few bags of local coffee at supermarket chains like Exito, la 14, or La Carulla and carry them back home in your luggage. Don’t be surprised if the military at the airport in Manizales, Medellin, Cali, Pereira, or Bogota pin prick your coffee bags and check them with a mechanical drug sniffer or pass them in front of a drug-sniffing dog who you really hope will not sit down (because he recognizes the smell of drugs). Buy your coffee in a store and don’t accept “presents” of coffee to take to someone back home.
Store-bought Coffee from Colombia Sent to You
If you would like to simply try a few bags of local “store” coffee from Manizales, we can ship to you by normal mail (takes up to four weeks). We can send up to 2 kg of coffee (four one pound bags) without going through the fuss of export procedures. Easily available local “store” coffees include Oma, La Loma, and Café Quindio.
- Sending 2 kg of coffee from Manizales to anywhere in the USA: $30
- Cost of a mix of 4 local coffees: $30
- Cost of sending: included

Coffee from Colombian Processors and Coffee Farms
If you would like fresh Colombian coffee shipped directly from a local processor or coffee farm, please contact us by leaving a comment on our site or sending an email to buyorganiccoffee@yahoo.com.
We deal directly with these people and can arrange exportation of quantities for personal use as well as shipping containers full of green coffee from Colombia.

overlooking Manizales, Colombia
Where Can I Buy Fresh Coffee from Colombia? – Slideshare Version
Eggnog Coffee Cake for the New Year
New Year’s Eve is almost upon us and it is time to think of what to serve your guests. We ran into a great idea from The West Australian in their Life & Style section, a recipe for eggnog coffee cake! Eggnog is a classic for the holiday season and it gives a great flavor to coffee cake. They suggest that you “Have a slice of the cake, and it will remind you of sipping the rich, delicious and high-calorie holiday drink.”
Their eggnog coffee cake recipe is pretty basic and they use store-bought eggnog. They simply add two cups of eggnog to their coffee recipe. We think that you can do better with the coffee cake and especially with the eggnog. For ideas about basic and fancy eggnog recipes take a look at our article on how to make homemade eggnog. Regarding coffee cake, there is a lot more to be said.
Coffee Cake
In case you are interested, April 7 is National Coffee Cake Day. And, according to Stuart Flexner, in Listening to America the term coffee cake came into being around 1879. But the origins of coffee cake go way back to Northern Europe (Germany and Denmark) and the 17th century when it was the custom to eat yeasty sweet bread while drinking coffee.
In Northern Europe, coffee cake evolved from traditional sweetbreads and became known as gugelhupf or kuchen. This cake and the tradition spread throughout Europe, across the English Channel to Great Britain, and across the Atlantic to the Americas.
With each migration, the cooks of the new country added their own touches. For example, British coffee cake is a sponge cake while American coffee cake is a sweet cake flavored with fruit or cinnamon and often containing sour cream. Other variations on the coffee cake theme include applesauce cake, Hungarian arany galuska which contains walnuts and cinnamon, stollen which is German Christmas cake, and Tortuga Rum Cake. (Wikipedia)(CoffeeCakes.com)
Thus eggnog coffee cake for the New Year, or anytime, joins a great tradition of coffee cakes.

Eggnog Coffee Cake
Eggnog
Eggnog was in the Americas in the 18th century. Isaac Weld wrote that
“The American travelers, before they pursued their journey, took a hearty draught each, according to custom, of egg-nog, a mixture composed of new milk, eggs, rum, and sugar, beat up together”
As we note in our article about how to make homemade eggnog, America’s first president, George Washington wrote down his own eggnog recipe, full of spirits, for posterity.

Homemade Eggnog
Making Eggnog Coffee Cake (Eggnog as the Glaze)
To make this recipe, start by making the eggnog. You can follow our basic recipe in How to Make Homemade Eggnog or use your own recipe. You can even add coffee for your eggnog coffee cake for the New Year!
Once your eggnog is ready and in the refrigerator and before you drink all of it, put aside enough to make your eggnog coffee cake for the New Year (see the recipes). A good, basic coffee cake to start with is a standard cinnamon coffee cake to which you add an eggnog glaze.
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- For the cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- For the topping and glaze:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
- 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 to 4 tablespoons eggnog
Making the Cake
- Coat a 9 inch spring form pan with cooking spray and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt
- In a separate large bowl beat the granulated sugar and butter with a mixer at medium to high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy which will take about 3 minutes
- Then add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat again until well mixed
- Now reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture gradually (three batches)
- Add sour cream in between the batches of flour and increase mixer speed to high until thoroughly mixed
- Transfer the batter to the spring form pan and set aside.
Making the Topping and Baking the Cake
- To a medium bowl add flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Then work in the butter with your fingers until the mixture is clumpy
- Scatter this topping over the cake
- Put in the oven and bake for an hour to hour and ten minutes. Check towards the end and when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean the cake is done
- Remove the cake from the oven and place on a rack to cool for twenty minutes
- After twenty minutes, remove the spring form ring to allow the cake to cool completely.
Making the Glaze
Add eggnog and confectioners’ sugar to a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Add an extra tablespoonful of eggnog if the glaze is too thick. Drizzle the eggnog glaze over the coffee cake just before serving.
Making Eggnog Coffee Cake (Eggnog in the Cake)
- For the cake
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 1⁄4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup eggnog
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- For the topping
- 1 1⁄4 cups pecans, broken
- 1⁄4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Making the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
- Using a 9 inch fluted or plain tube pan, coat the inside with butter
- Add cream, butter, and sugar to a large bowl and mix until it is fluffy and light
- Continue beating and add eggs, eggnog, and vanilla
- Then stir in flour, baking powder, and salt
- Now beat into has a butter texture
Making the Topping
- In a small or medium bowl mix sugar, cinnamon, and nuts
- Scatter half of the topping over bottom of pan
- Using a spoon add half of the batter
- Scatter the rest of the topping evenly over the batter and add the rest of the batter
Bake
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (until a toothpick inserted in center will come out clean)
- Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.
Jazz Up Your Eggnog Coffee Cake for the New Year
Although there are lots of coffee cake recipes, perhaps the best way to vary your eggnog coffee cake for the New Year is to jazz up the eggnog. Going back to George Washington, people were putting rum and lots of other spirits in their eggnog. Perhaps, the end result of adding rum to your eggnog would be an eggnog rum cake for the holidays!
Eggnog Coffee Cake for the New Year – Slideshare Version
What Is Pink Bourbon Coffee?
The Bourbon coffee variety dates back to the 1700s when French missionaries first introduced it on Bourbon Island in the Indian Ocean. The island is called Réunion today and the missionaries moved on to Latin America in the middle of the 1800s. It was first grown in Brazil around 1860 and cultivation spread from there throughout Latin America. Because the standard Bourbon variety is susceptible to coffee leaf rust, it does best at higher altitudes at or above 1,800 meters where leaf rust is less likely to occur. Bourbon produces a tall coffee plant, excellent coffee, and medium to low production. It much of Latin America, basic Bourbon has been replaced by offshoots such as Caturra, Catuai, and Mundo Novo. But, around Huila, Colombia in the Andes Mountains, growers still specialize in growing Bourbon coffee and a cross-bred variety, pink Bourbon.

Pink Bourbon Coffee from Huila, Colombia
Pink Bourbon gets its name from the fact that the ripe berries are pink instead of red. Coffee farmers around Huila, Colombia produce the variety by cross-breeding yellow and red Bourbon. It has greater resistance to leaf rust than either the yellow or red variety. Pink bourbon has spicy-jasmine notes and a hint of caramel. This is an excellent, artisanal coffee that can be purchased from retailers in the USA. The problem is that you are commonly buying beans from the previous year’s harvest. However, if you buy Arabica coffee directly from Colombia via Buy Organic Coffee, you can get fresh pink Bourbon from Huila, Colombia, either green beans or freshly roasted and shipped directly to you.

Where Is Huila, Colombia?
Huila is a department in the country of Colombia. Its capital is Neiva and the department lies southeast of the city of Cali. The volcano, Nevado de Huila, is the tallest volcano in Colombia at 17, 598 feet (5,364 meters) and the entire department sits on the Colombian massif. The department holds the headwaters of the Magdalena River, the largest in Colombia. With rich, volcanic soil, high elevations, lots of rain, and a culture of coffee growing, Huila produces some of the finest coffee within the Colombian coffee growing axis. The fact that local growers have found to a way to grow an old variety (Bourbon) and increase its leaf rust resistance is a big plus. Even better, pink Bourbon is such an excellent coffee. The key for enjoying this great coffee if you live outside of Colombia is to contact us at Buy Organic Coffee. You can leave a message in our comment section or send an email to buyorganicoffee@yahoo.com. Be certain to let us know if you want small quantities for personal use or commercial quantities, green coffee versus roasted and whole bean versus ground. (We strongly advise against asking for ground coffee as you will be losing most of the “freshness advantage” of shipping directly from Colombia.
What Is Pink Bourbon Coffee? – Slideshare Version
Organic Coffee from Caldas, Colombia
We have written frequently about Colombian Arabica organic coffee and particularly about coffee from the area around Manizales, Colombia. Manizales is the capital of the department (state) of Caldas. Old Caldas (Viejo Caldas) is the historic heart of the Colombian coffee growing district in the highlands of the Andean Mountains. This region has been a coffee-producing Mecca for nearly two hundred years as we noted in our article about Colombian coffee history. While other coffee-growing regions of the world have chosen to use coffee varieties that are sun tolerant or use mechanical coffee picking, the growers or regular Arabica and organic coffee from Caldas, Colombia have not. Coffee varieties are chosen for quality and not convenience in Caldas and picking on the mountainsides is always by hand.
Artisanal Coffee from Caldas, Colombia
The focus of coffee production in the historic heart of coffee growing in Colombia has always been to produce the best Arabica coffee rather than producing the most. Families in Caldas have been growing coffee for generations and take pride in the quality of their production. Much of the coffee grown in this region is organic in fact if not in name. That is because these coffee farmers have always used sustainable practices even though they do not pay an agency like Bio Latina to certify their crops. Although much of coffee production in Caldas, Colombia goes directly for general consumption, the vast majority is artisanal in quality. That is, the coffee is single original, harvested at specific altitudes (mostly very high), and grown in a specific kind of soil (volcanic).
Organic Coffee from Caldas, Colombia
Organic coffee from Colombia can be difficult to find. This is because many organic growers have long-term contracts with buyers in Japan, Europe, or the USA. All of their production is spoken for. Other growers are organic in fact but not certified and not known to be organic outside of their specific communities. However, if you are interested in organic coffee from Caldas, Colombia, we at BuyOrganicCoffee.org have contacts through the Colombian coffee growing region and specifically around Manizales in the department of Caldas. If you are interested in artisanal organic coffee from Colombia and especially from the Caldas region, please feel free to leave us a message in the comments section on our site and we will get back to you.
Caldas, Colombia
The Caldas department of Colombia has elevations of 7,000 feet and above. It is in the high elevations where Arabica coffee grows best and where many of the old Caldas coffee-growing families have their coffee farms. The soil is volcanic and the growing areas are punctuated with tall mountains that reach above the tree line such as Nevada del Ruiz, the 15,000 foot still-active volcano.

This view of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano is from Avenida Santander in the city of Manizales, the capital of the department of Caldas and the home of the Colombian Coffee Growers Association.
Here is where coffee grows from the lowlands (three to five thousand feet) to the highlands (over 8,000 feet) and the focus on coffee growing is and has always been to produce the highest quality organic coffee from Caldas, Colombia.