Colombia Supremo green coffee beans are the bean most home roasters learn on, and the one plenty of us keep coming back to. Supremo is Colombia’s largest export grade, screen 17/18, and the size consistency is exactly what makes it forgiving in a home roaster. Big, even beans take heat evenly and give you a clear first crack instead of a scattered mess.

We sell it unroasted in 1 lb, 3 lb and 5 lb bags out of our Concord, CA roastery. If you want it roasted instead, that is a different product line. This page is raw green coffee.

What Colombia Supremo Tastes Like

Washed process, grown across the Colombian Andes. The cup is the reason Colombia became the reference point for “balanced coffee” in the first place: medium body, caramel and brown sugar sweetness, a nutty backbone, and a clean citrus acidity that shows up without taking over.

It is not a wild coffee. It will not throw blueberry at you the way a natural Ethiopian does. What it does is sit in the middle of the flavor wheel and do everything competently, which is why it anchors so many espresso blends.

• Grade: Supremo, screen 17/18
• Process: Washed
• Origin: Colombian Andes
• Cup notes: Caramel, brown sugar, walnut, mild citrus
• Body: Medium, smooth
• Best for: First-time home roasters, espresso blend base, daily drinker

How to Roast Colombia Supremo Green Coffee Beans

Supremo is the most forgiving green on our shelf, which is why we point beginners at it. It has a wide usable window. You can miss your target by twenty seconds and still drink something good.

1. City roast (drop right at the end of first crack) keeps the citrus and gives you the brightest cup. Good for pour over.
2. City Plus to Full City (a bit past first crack, before second) is where most people land. Caramel comes forward, acidity settles down, body fills in. This is the all-purpose roast.
3. Full City Plus (just into second crack) pushes it toward chocolate and roastiness. This is the espresso territory.

Past that you are roasting away what you paid for. Colombia does not need a dark roast to taste good, and taking it to a French level flattens the sweetness that makes it worth buying.

New to this? Read our home roasting FAQ and our guide to choosing the perfect roast before your first batch.

Weight Loss and Yield

Green coffee loses roughly 15 to 18 percent of its weight in the roaster, mostly water. A 1 lb bag of Colombia Supremo green coffee beans gives you somewhere around 13 to 13.5 oz roasted, depending on how far you take it. Darker roast, more loss.

Plan accordingly if you are roasting for a specific bag size.

Storing Green Coffee

Green coffee is stable in a way roasted coffee is not. Kept cool, dry and out of sunlight in a breathable container, it holds for a year or more without meaningful loss. Do not vacuum seal it and do not freeze it. It wants a little air exchange.

This is the whole argument for buying green in 5 lb quantities: you roast what you need this week, and the rest is not sitting there going stale on you.

Why Buy Green Coffee From a Roastery

We buy green for our own production, which means the Colombia Supremo you are buying is out of the same lot we roast commercially. It is not overstock and it is not last season’s crop that somebody needs to move.

Browse the rest of our green coffee for home roasters, or pair this with something with more personality like our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe so you have a bright bean and a balanced bean on hand.

Shipping and Local Pickup

Ships from Concord, California, usually in one to two business days. Local East Bay customers can pick up at the roastery. More about our Concord roastery, or read the background on Colombian coffee production.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Supremo mean?

It is a size grade, not a quality grade. Supremo is screen 17/18, the largest standard Colombian export size. Excelso is the next size down. Bigger beans roast more evenly, which is why Supremo is the home roaster’s pick.

Can I brew green coffee beans without roasting them?

No. Green coffee has none of the flavor compounds that roasting creates. It tastes like grass and hay. These beans need to be roasted.

Is Colombia Supremo good for espresso?

Yes, especially taken to Full City. It is a common base in espresso blends because it gives you body and sweetness without a flavor that fights everything else in the blend.

How long do green coffee beans last?

A year or more stored cool, dry and dark in a breathable container. Roasted coffee is good for weeks. Green coffee is good for seasons.

How much roasted coffee does a pound of green make?

About 13 to 13.5 oz, depending on roast level. Figure 15 to 18 percent weight loss.