Origin: Colombia
Farm : El Paraiso
Varietal : Castillo
Altitude : 1960 MASL
Certification : Micro-Lot
Process : Multi-Stage Fermentation W/ Yeast Paraiso
Cup Score : 88
Mandarin, Pomegranate & Cola
We’re so lucky to have a small amount of this AMAZING multi-stage Castillo from El Paraiso, one of the world's most celebrated farms for its progressive and unique coffee cultivation.
“A Castillo from one of the world's leading farms in fermentation, and creator of some of the most memorable lots in recent times, the Bermudez families; El Paraiso.”
Expect complex, fruit forward and sweet perfumed notes that are highlighted by the fantastic multi-stage processing leaving the coffee transparent and with beautiful clarity.
Processing:
Y05 fermentation: aerobic and anaerobic
Microorganism: yeast paraiso yellow fruit
Technique: washed with thermal shock
Process: washed with special fermentation
Step 1 - The process of this profile begins with the correct harvest of the coffee cherries, at optimum maturity.
Step 2 - Then the coffee cherries are disinfected with ozone and transferred to fermentation tanks, where an anaerobic fermentation process is carried out for 72 hours submerged in water.
Step 3 - The coffee is pulped, its mucilage demolished, and taken with the pulp to the pilot plant to carry out the production of specific microorganisms for this process. This generates the culture medium that contains the precursors of aromas and flavours produced in the fermentation. This culture medium is added to the fermentation tanks for 36 hours to fix the precursors to the coffee beans through pressure.
Step 4 - Next a thermal shock process is carried out to fix a greater amount of precursors as well as seal the coffee for a good drying process.
Step 5 - After this the coffee is dried in a dehumidifier to eliminate moisture, while preserving the soft notes of the coffee and avoiding over-oxidation of the coffee bean and the arrest of metabolic processes to manage over-fermentation and encourage stabilisation, before being stored in a cool environment.
Step 6. The final phase involves selection and threshing according to quality.
Producer:
Alex Bermudez, born in Bolivar Cauca, co-owner of the El Paraíso farm located in the municipality of Piendamo in Cauca, came to the world of coffee under the influence of his famous brother Diego Samuel Bermudez who, thanks to his studies in agricultural business administration, came to learn and become quite interested in this topic. Although the family were not coffee growers, they had a farm where Diego was able to start planting his first coffee crop, where he would pave the way not only for himself, but also for his family who supported him in his idea.
This is how one day Alex gets the opportunity to work with his brother, leaving aside his law career. Diego, due to his extensive knowledge, begins to work in the national federation of coffee growers and it is Alex who is left with the role of taking charge of the farm, completely unaware of the subject, accepts trusting in the teachings of his brother, who without hesitation endowed him with the knowledge absolute to work hand in hand. This is how as a team they took it upon themselves to go beyond traditional techniques, even creating their own equipment in their quest to produce a very high quality coffee.
Today, Alex Bermudez is the quality director of INDESTEC S.A.S, a family business whose purpose is to improve the conditions of production, processing and marketing of specialty coffee around the world, thus helping large and small producers. Family work is what has made Alex feel so grateful and lucky, because as he himself says, material things do not matter but the other earnings he has obtained thanks to coffee. Such as satisfaction, learning, love for work, family unity and above all the power to help so many coffee growers who, like them, begin an unknown path with much sacrifice as is the world of the coffee grower.
Farm:
El Paraìso is a family operation. The farm team consists of four family members and eight employees.
The fertilisation is based on what the trees need. Diego and his team have developed advanced fermentation and washing techniques, such as employing self-collected micro-organisms. Diego has even developed his own environmentally friendly driers that work on the principle of condensation.
In 2008, Diego Samuel Bermùdez Tapia started a family project to grow coffee at El Paraìso farm, located in the Cauca Department, municipality of Piendamo, Los Arados village, thus beginning an adventure that would transform his lifestyle. He has been educating himself with the aim of finding answers and solutions to the challenges faced by the coffee sector. He is dedicated to improving the production through innovation, incorporation of technology and of the best cultivation and processing practices.
He was one of the first farmers in Colombia to start experimenting with fermentation by adding different types of microorganisms and yeasts to the beans.
By now he has developed various recipes that are reproducible so he can craft his profiles on demand. This is possible thanks to a strict regimen of almost industrial-style processing, where maintaining a clean and controlled environment is the key. All cherries are washed thoroughly with filtered water to remove all microorganisms present on the skins. Then the selected microorganisms are introduced. The level of fermentation is controlled by tracking the temperature and pH level. The thermal shock process, employing cold and warm water, guarantees that the spectacular flavours and aromas are better absorbed by the beans.
Since 2015 Finca El Paraìso has positioned itself as a producer of specialty coffee through participation in various regional and national competitions, and as a family business dedicated to the cultivation, processing, and marketing of high-quality coffee.
Varietal:
Castillo is named after the researcher Jamie Castillo, who helped Cenicafe, Colombia’s coffee research centre, develop the varietal in 2005. Castillo was designed as an improvement on the Colombia variety. It is resistant to leaf rust (roya) and other prevalent diseases, which has quickly made it the most planted coffee in Colombia. It is high-yield, and its smaller size allows for greater planting density, which have also made it so popular among farmers.
In 1968 Café de Colombia’s research centre Cenicafé, which is dedicated to studying and improving coffee farming, began a genetic improvement programme to create rust-resistant varieties.
After 23 years of research and development Castillo was released for production in 2005. 12 years later, it is still resistant to both leaf rust and coffee berry disease.