Origin: Colombia
Farm: Bella Vista
Varietal: Castillo
Altitude: 1800 MASL
Certification: Micro-Lot
Process: 60hr Washed
Cup Score: 86.5
Caramelized Brown Sugar, Chocolate & Orange Zest
A clean & expressive 60hr washed Castillo from third-generation producer Jhonatan Gasca. This wonderful lot from Bella Vista reflects the Zarza precision led approach to washed processing. Through careful fermentation management and slow moisture reduction, the cup develops caramelised sugars, layered cocoa & orange acidity with exceptional balance.
Interestingly beyond coffee production, the family integrates beekeeping as part of their agricultural ecosystem.
Farm
Bella Vista is the name of Jhonatan’s farm, which translates to “great view”. It is located in the region with the highest coffee production in Colombia, Pitalito, within the department of Huila in Southern Colombia. Colombia is such a large producer of coffee that there are harvests virtually all year round because of the varied micro-climates across each region.
The farm is 6 ½ hectares in size, and the coffee is grown under the shade of walnut trees, cedar and guayacan native to the area.
Producer
Jhonatan Gasca, is a young traditional coffee farmer “I was born in a coffee plantation” says Jhonatan… “My grandparents and my parents were always dedicated to coffee farming and although I must thank them for this passion, the truth is that they planted, harvested and sold coffee to those who paid the most, they were dedicated to producing quantity, but not quality, this was the way to have a permanent economic income”.
Jhonatan took the opportunity to study and he applied to be a technologist in ecological agricultural and livestock production, knowing that with this he would have more possibilities on the farm.
By 2008, the subject of specialised coffee was something new, and together with his uncle and brother, Jhonatan began planting speciality coffee, the first of which was a Honey, he enthusiastically took it to the SKM cooperative, which was where they paid him the best, but unfortunately, they rejected it because of the appearance of the coffee and he was very frustrated since his family did not share his same belief in the potential of quality coffee.
Determined, he continues to experiment and learn. Luckily he has a great example in The Lasso family, friends well known for their excellent specialty coffees, who have become motivation to Jhonatan to achieve a high level in coffee.
Jhonatan is proud to continue his family tradition, and show the world the product that has given him everything in life, coffee.
Process
This coffee is harvested following strict ripeness criteria, floated and hand-sorted to remove any defects, the cherries are then exposed to 30 hours of underwater fermentation before being pulped.
The parchment is then gently washed and dried in temperature controlled conditions until ideal moisture content is achieved.