Overview
This is an experimental anaerobic coffee from Nariño, Colombia, produced by Huver Castillo on his farm Finca el Paseo.
The flavor profile is strikingly vanilla like, super sweet and candy-like, with hints of cherry and citrus acidity and floral notes like rose and orange blossom, and a candied walnut finish.
Our roasters encourage a gentle approach with the flame, particularly in early roasting stages.
When brewed, we felt that a finer grind and flat-bottomed brewer were ideal for pour-overs, allowing longer brew times to produce cups with balanced body and sweetness and good flavor complexity.
Taste Analysis by Isabella Vitaliano
On the cutting edge of innovation and discipline, Huver Castillo and his family have created a captivating coffee that we are excited to share with you all. In the green coffee and on the cupping table what first caught our attention was the intense vanilla bean aromatics and taste.
Interestingly, the inoculated fermentation technique has manifested into some flavors similar to a dry white wine or rosé. While vanilla is what you will likely notice first, there are interesting layers to be explored under that: florals like day lily and chamomile texturize the profile while a more botanical aftertaste of juniper lingers on the palate. The dryness of the wine-adjacent flavors and florals play together in an enticing way.
Accompanying these flavors you’ll also find notes like dried raspberry, candied walnut and unsweetened acai, rounding off the experience in such a way that will make you think “what just happened?”.
The flavors on pour-over mellow out compared to the cupping table in a pleasant way. You get an approachable cup, yet one that any coffee drinker could notice something special about.
You might think this coffee as an espresso would turn bombastic but Alisha discovered that although it was highly distinctive it was still amiable. The vanilla flavor was especially amped up and the team particularly enjoyed it with milk. Vanilla latte without the vanilla, anyone?
The dimensions of this coffee are meant to be played with and explored in the much same way as the producer explored processing on the farm – limits to be pushed and palates to be expanded. This is an uncommon coffee, and we hope you enjoy this cutting-edge take on processing by the Castillo family.
Green Analysis by Isabella Vitaliano
When you finally receive this green coffee the first thing you’ll notice is the fragrant vanilla aroma coming from the Crown Jewel box. This multi-staged fermented coffee is on the edge of innovation and quality excellence which is evident in the green specs and in the cup quality.
Castillo varieties can be seen as an improved Colombia-style Catimor with leaf-rust resistant attributes. Screen size is densely packed in the 19-16 range with a total moisture content hitting normal ranges and a water activity that is slightly above average. Thankfully, nothing too wild happened during roasting despite the avant-garde processing methods. Doris’ only comment to this was to make sure to “push the heat” a little.
Diedrich IR5 Analysis by Doris Garrido
There is a particular flavor profile that I enjoy a lot on Colombian Coffees, and I tend to focus on the drying stage of roasting to either enhance these flavors or diminish them. Generally, they tend to remain within the medium density range. Owing to this, I typically initiate with a gentle start - not exactly a soak but rather a mild charge with air. With this inoculated coffee I have discovered that starting with an even gentler approach leads to a better result. In this case I did try soaking and here are my findings.
Initially, I preheated my roaster and charged the coffee at 411°F, utilizing 50% of the airflow. Despite this low charge temperature and airflow, the turning point ended up being high, at 186°F. At two minutes I increased my gas to 85% and let it run for 5 minutes and 30 seconds, and then lowered to 30% when the temperature reached 317.5F. Midway through the yellowing phase, I push the airflow to 100%.
The first crack started at 9 minutes and 4 seconds with a temperature of 382.9°F. For development, I gave it 1 minute and 30 seconds, dropping the coffee at 397°F.
The sweetness was a significant enhancement in this roast, the inoculated coffee exhibited a noticeable vanilla flavor, hazelnut chocolate and a pronounced hot cocoa taste, complemented by a silky body and rounded out with a buttery flavor! I am just waiting to taste this coffee on espresso as a cortado, I have a hunch it's going to be incredible.
Brew Analysis by Taylor Brandon
I first experienced this coffee on the cupping table and was a bit intimidated by my lack of knowledge of the inoculation process. My hesitation was met with ease as I experienced a clean cup with a savory citrus depth and gorgeous milk chocolate notes. This brew likes to stew so stick with a flat bottom brewer. My favorite brews were with the Kalita Wave and I find that a conical brewer like the V60 did not allow the grounds enough time to marinate with the water. My first brew was my absolute favorite! An 18.5 dose of coffee and 9.5 grinds on the Kalita Wave delivered a stellar extraction rate of 20.16%. My colleagues and I experienced notes of rose, candy corn, lemongrass, almond, orange blossom, and Cadbury eggs. I also thought the body had a nice weight that was able to carry the depth of flavor. I would stop here but in the spirit of experimentation, I facilitated three more brews. Brew number two was cute and I simply changed the grind from 9.5 to 8. The finer grind delivered a higher concentrated flavor and an extraction rate of 22.73%. The flavors were bold; graham cracker, honey, maple syrup, and apple pie with sharp cheddar cheese! Wow, wow, welcome to flavor town! By this point, I wanted to see what the softer side of this coffee was made of, and I switched to the V60 dripper. The V60 brews were too light in body for my taste but still solid. The first of the two was a dose of 19 grams of coffee at a 9.5 grind. My extraction rate was off the charts at 26.62% - not ideal but not terrible. I got more lime citrus in this brew as well as Swiss miss chocolate, cherry, and pear hard candy. The last brew took the dose to 18 grams of coffee and a grind of 9 on the EK43 grinder. This zesty brew presented notes of nougat, caramel, soy sauce, and tomato. Again, for a great, fun, and zesty cup, a flat-bottom brewer is a must. I would also suggest a finer grind for more fun. All in all, a fun and clean coffee.
Espresso Analysis by Alisha Rajan
Huver Castillo’s seemingly circuitous experimentation with this standout anaerobic Castillo cultivar is as intriguing as it is flavorful. From the initial “oxidative” maceration step to the anaerobic stage post-inoculation monitoring, I was taken by the attention to detail that Huver had to maintain throughout the process. Considering the aforementioned wine-like character of this coffee, I am curious as to whether the inoculation was a direct cause of this. After all of that work, creating something less than exceptional was out of the question, and the espresso analysis allowed me to arrive at the same conclusion. Unmistakable vanilla bean character mingles with candied walnut and bright berries to present a coffee that is distinctively sweet and highly palatable, with or without milk.
The first recipe of note came in at a moderately high dose of 18.5g with a 35.8g yield extracted in 32 seconds. Presenting an ideal ratio of sweetness to brightness, this was undeniably my favorite recipe. Notable flavors included candied cherry, sweet walnut, and an amaretto-like finish. The characteristic vanilla was present from start to finish, a gentle base on top of which the other flavors sat comfortably.
My second favorite recipe came in at a higher dose of 19.0g with a 38.8g yield extracted in 34 seconds. Although the vanilla flavor was present throughout, this recipe highlighted a much more complex and full bodied candied walnut flavor. Concentrated nuttiness and pistachio marzipan yielded to a minty and herbaceous finish.
All in all, this offering surpassed my ideas and expectations of what a yeast inoculated coffee could taste like. Although I would not characterize it as mild by any standard, it was “punchy” in all the right ways while maintaining its approachability. What I’m most intrigued with, however, is the seemingly paradoxical situation of such innovative production methods yielding such classic and nostalgic flavors like vanilla ice cream and candied walnut. This is certainly a testament to the knowledge and skill of the producer. Dialing this in was a truly rewarding journey, delicious from start to finish.
