If I understand it correctly (I think I do).... espresso really the fineness of the grind rather than a variety. If you wish to make espresso from Colombian coffee, just select a good grade (100% arabica beans or a blend with predominately arabica beans), and choose a roast type. I happen to prefer medium roast for my espresso but many folks like darker roasts for espresso. A good local roaster can probably help you with this (selecting a roast type). If this isn't possible, you can mail order from a supplier who has Colmbian beans and perhaps get a small quantity of medium roast and also of dark roast to compare. Key factor is having a good grinder to grind the beans yourself and grind it to a fineness appropriate for your espresso machine. Pre-roasted beans have a distinctly limited lifespan of freshness but many of us use them due to convenience factors. Pre-ground coffee not only goes stale very quickly once the sealed package is opened, it's not likely to be as fresh as freshly ground beans even when you first open it.
I don't recall seeing Columbian espresso blends and am not sure why. Quality arabica Columbian beans can make for an excellent drip or french press coffee. Perhaps they're used in some espresso blends but the blend names don't hint at the contents? It's typical for espresso blends to contain coffee from a variety of origins, thus allowing the blend to have the right balance of characteristics. Might be possible that a straight Colombian isn't good as an espresso coffee?
Hope this helps.... perhaps others will also have some input.
If I understand it correctly (I think I do).... espresso really the fineness of the grind rather than a variety. If you wish to make espresso from Colombian coffee, just select a good grade (100% arabica beans or a blend with predominately arabica beans), and choose a roast type. I happen to prefer medium roast for my espresso but many folks like darker roasts for espresso. A good local roaster can probably help you with this (selecting a roast type). If this isn't possible, you can mail order from a supplier who has Colmbian beans and perhaps get a small quantity of medium roast and also of dark roast to compare. Key factor is having a good grinder to grind the beans yourself and grind it to a fineness appropriate for your espresso machine. Pre-roasted beans have a distinctly limited lifespan of freshness but many of us use them due to convenience factors. Pre-ground coffee not only goes stale very quickly once the sealed package is opened, it's not likely to be as fresh as freshly ground beans even when you first open it.
I don't recall seeing Columbian espresso blends and am not sure why. Quality arabica Columbian beans can make for an excellent drip or french press coffee. Perhaps they're used in some espresso blends but the blend names don't hint at the contents? It's typical for espresso blends to contain coffee from a variety of origins, thus allowing the blend to have the right balance of characteristics. Might be possible that a straight Colombian isn't good as an espresso coffee?
Hope this helps.... perhaps others will also have some input.
HillRat Senior Member Joined: 5 Jan 2004 Posts: 2 Location: Washington DC Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Jan 5, 2004, 12:28pm Subject: Re: Colombian coffee
At the OMA coffee chain throughout Bogota and Medellin (probably other cities too) they use traditional italian type expresso machines to make the coffee. OMA has several different roasts you can buy, ranging from light to fairly dark. There is nothing as dark as the italian roasts we buy here in the states though.
The coffee at the Oma chain is not bad. Better than starbucks but not as nice as the stuff in Italy. Oma is a nice place to relax with a cafe and some food, good atmosphere. The full name is "Oma de Libros" basically a coffee shop/restaurant with books/magazines for sale/to read.
Cafe Oma is where I met the mother of an ex-girlfriend in Bogota. That is the mom and her friends befriended me at Oma to later introduce me to her daughter. Great memories.
There is another coffee shop(s) that I equate with the ones in Italy. That one is Cafe Don Pedro. They have a shop at El Dorado International Airport and in North Bogota. Don Pedro essentially hand roasts the coffee in a white lab coat and tie with log book at hand. He has won coffee awards in the US. They use La San Marco 95 machines. Espresso is excellent. Very upscale. They sell beans. I don't know if they blend or not.
Colombia is like a second home to me. Beautiful country and very nice/intelligent people. Reminds me of Europe. (don't think about the negative stuff)
Honeyta Senior Member Joined: 26 Sep 2004 Posts: 2 Location: San Diego, California Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sun Sep 26, 2004, 7:25am Subject: Re: Colombian coffee
Hi, you can visit our website at authenticcolombian.com and get information and buy Cafe Oma from us in the US now. We started importing it and have the coffee beans that you are looking for. Contact me and I can offer you an additonal discount from the prices that we have posted.
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