New single origin espresso
SAN PEDRO DE CARTAGO
By Intelligentsia Sourcing | February 9, 2024
The Variety
Cenicafé, the Colombian National Coffee Research Center, released the Castillo variety in 2005. This new variety was bred to solve a major problem that afflicts farmers -- coffee leaf rust. This fungus attaches itself to the underside of coffee leaves and spreads when it rains. Infected leaves wither up and fall off which reduces the plants ability to produce fruit. In severe outbreaks, entire fields of coffee trees will die. But even in moderate outbreaks, this fungus can negatively impact several years of harvests.
While Cenicafé was excited about Castillo's rust resistance, specialty coffee buyers were concerned that the cup quality might not be good. Intelligentsia helped resolve this tension through its service as a charter member of the Advisory Council for the Borderlands project. This work helped farmers validate that the quality of the new Castillo variety was similar to the Caturra variety which it is often replacing.
Today, the Castillo variety is popular with Colombian farmers due to its cup quality (as evidenced by this lot!) and its resistance to coffee leaf rust.
The Process
The Process
Farmers selectively picked coffee cherries in the fields, floated them to remove insect damaged cherries, and then stored them in wooden hoppers or a plastic tank for 12 to 14 hours. The cherries then passed through the traditional washed process -- after pulping the cherries, the coffee was fermented for 24 to 48 hours (depending on the temperature outside) so that the mucilage could be easily washed off. The coffee was then dried on patios or in parabolic dryers for 15 to 21 days.
Look for
Plum | Dried Cranberry | Navel Orange
Shot Specs
As always, our roasting approach is to maximize sweetness and fruit acids.
A great starting point for your dial-in is:
18 gram in | 45 grams out | 35 seconds
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