Colombia El Paseo Yeast Inoculated
Price range: $24.00 through $112.00
german chocolate cake - cherry - lilac - mango
There have been a variety of experiments taking place on quality-driven farms over the last few years, with most of them having to do with coffee fermentation: that is, when bacteria begin breaking down the sugars in coffee fruit, so that it can be removed more easily from the “seeds,” or beans. While some of these approaches attempt to remedy issues particular to a farm–for example, a farm at extremely high altitudes with cold temperatures may have difficulty fermenting coffee at all, and so approaches might be taken to simply kickstart the process–most of them in the specialty sector are aimed at increasing cup quality, or creating unique attributes, and so adding value.
Of course, one person’s “uniqueness” is another’s trainwreck. We often seek out these new processes because they’re usually (at least) interesting. But even successful experimental lots can prove to be more of a novelty than gustatory treat. (It’s not uncommon for someone in the roastery to cup a sample and say something like “That’s really cool. I mean, I wouldn’t want to drink a cup of it, but it tastes good.”)
This is definitely not the case with this coffee.
This coffee is produced by Huver Castillo in the Nariño department of Colombia. Prices for coffee in the mid teens were very low when he took over his family’s coffee farm, and so he began researching fermentation techniques as practiced in the wine and brewing industries, in the hope of improving the quality and distinctiveness of his coffee. After a few years of study and experimentation, he created a process for his washed Castillo varietal (yes, his last name is a type of coffee) that he uses today, and resulted in the lot you have before you.
The dry grounds are sweet and brown, with a little bit of tropical fruit in the background. But it’s when the water hits that it really starts to reveal itself. It’s a truly remarkable wet aromatic, worth the price of admission on its own. On our cupping table, the bowls are almost suffocating in their heavy sweetness. It’s thick and pasty, making me think of cream cheese frosting combined with almond paste. There’s a bit of red or orange fruit in there as well. My mind registers “cherry,” probably because of the almond paste/marzipan thing. (Do you know that cherries and almonds both belong to the genus Prunus? And that they share a compound called benzaldehyde, that contributes to a similar flavor profile? It’s true. I just Googled it.)
In the cup and on the palate, the coffee is not nearly as rambunctious as the wet grounds suggest it might be. But it still has the quality of drinking German chocolate cake, made with almonds instead of pecans. There’s a little bit of fruit lurking in the background as well—cherry cordial, or maybe mango. And yet it’s not too clunky, but pretty clean and crisp—it’s a dense, high grown Colombia, after all–and finishes with lingering chocolate-meets-coconut. I could drink it all day long, and probably will, as we move into production. It’s not a “dessert” coffee, per se. HOWEVER: while I almost never have milk with coffee—I don’t even do capps or cortados that often—I will say that I made a small bowl for myself from our cupping table samples, and added a little bit of milk and demerara sugar from our bar, and it was AWESOME.
final note: our first production roasts also showed a very intriguing lilac note. I had been puzzling over the fragrance of the green coffee for a while–there was something very prominent and nostalgic about the smell–but I couldn’t place it. Upon tasting the coffee, it became apparent what it was–lilac perfume!
Location: Nariño
Elevation: 1800 MASL
Varietal: castillo
Process: yeast inoculation, aerobic and anaerobic ferment, washed
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
There have been a variety of experiments taking place on quality-driven farms over the last few years, with most of them having to do with coffee fermentation: that is, when bacteria begin breaking down the sugars in coffee fruit, so that it can be removed more easily from the “seeds,” or beans. While some of these approaches attempt to remedy issues particular to a farm–for example, a farm at extremely high altitudes with cold temperatures may have difficulty fermenting coffee at all, and so approaches might be taken to simply kickstart the process–most of them in the specialty sector are aimed at increasing cup quality, or creating unique attributes, and so adding value.
Of course, one person’s “uniqueness” is another’s trainwreck. We often seek out these new processes because they’re usually (at least) interesting. But even successful experimental lots can prove to be more of a novelty than gustatory treat. (It’s not uncommon for someone in the roastery to cup a sample and say something like “That’s really cool. I mean, I wouldn’t want to drink a cup of it, but it tastes good.”)
This is definitely not the case with this coffee.
This coffee is produced by Huver Castillo in the Nariño department of Colombia. Prices for coffee in the mid teens were very low when he took over his family’s coffee farm, and so he began researching fermentation techniques as practiced in the wine and brewing industries, in the hope of improving the quality and distinctiveness of his coffee. After a few years of study and experimentation, he created a process for his washed Castillo varietal (yes, his last name is a type of coffee) that he uses today, and resulted in the lot you have before you.
The dry grounds are sweet and brown, with a little bit of tropical fruit in the background. But it’s when the water hits that it really starts to reveal itself. It’s a truly remarkable wet aromatic, worth the price of admission on its own. On our cupping table, the bowls are almost suffocating in their heavy sweetness. It’s thick and pasty, making me think of cream cheese frosting combined with almond paste. There’s a bit of red or orange fruit in there as well. My mind registers “cherry,” probably because of the almond paste/marzipan thing. (Do you know that cherries and almonds both belong to the genus Prunus? And that they share a compound called benzaldehyde, that contributes to a similar flavor profile? It’s true. I just Googled it.)
In the cup and on the palate, the coffee is not nearly as rambunctious as the wet grounds suggest it might be. But it still has the quality of drinking German chocolate cake, made with almonds instead of pecans. There’s a little bit of fruit lurking in the background as well—cherry cordial, or maybe mango. And yet it’s not too clunky, but pretty clean and crisp—it’s a dense, high grown Colombia, after all–and finishes with lingering chocolate-meets-coconut. I could drink it all day long, and probably will, as we move into production. It’s not a “dessert” coffee, per se. HOWEVER: while I almost never have milk with coffee—I don’t even do capps or cortados that often—I will say that I made a small bowl for myself from our cupping table samples, and added a little bit of milk and demerara sugar from our bar, and it was AWESOME.
final note: our first production roasts also showed a very intriguing lilac note. I had been puzzling over the fragrance of the green coffee for a while–there was something very prominent and nostalgic about the smell–but I couldn’t place it. Upon tasting the coffee, it became apparent what it was–lilac perfume!
Location: Nariño
Elevation: 1800 MASL
Varietal: castillo
Process: yeast inoculation, aerobic and anaerobic ferment, washed