What coffee bean grades and process does San Jose Estate use?

San Jose Estate in Colombia's Caldas region pioneered barrel fermentation. The third-generation female owner placed green coffee beans into rum oak barrels for low-temperature fermentation, creating a rum barrel-fermented coffee. The lot is Castillo variety, grown at 1,750 meters, and graded Supremo under a fine washed process.

Colombia's Caldas region gets abundant sunshine and averages 21°C to 25°C across the year. The estate covers 18 hectares, with 16.5 hectares planted to coffee. Brewing the barrel-fermented beans at different pour-over water temperatures changes how the rum and fruit notes show up, so the recipe is usually adjusted to the roast.

In the specialty coffee world, barrel fermentation has attracted much attention in recent years, and the pioneer of this process was not Honduras' Moka Estate, but San Jose Estate in Colombia's Caldas region. In a moment of sudden inspiration, the estate's third-generation female owner placed green coffee beans into rum oak barrels for low-temperature fermentation. After repeated experiments, she ultimately created the distinctive rum barrel-fermented coffee. This article will guide you through the background of San Jose Estate, the birth of barrel fermentation, the origins of the Castillo variety, and Front Street Coffee's pour-over performance and brewing recommendations for this bean at different water temperatures, helping you gain a more comprehensive understanding of this uniquely flavored Colombian specialty coffee.

Currently in the specialty coffee circle, two barrel-fermented coffee beans produced by Honduras' Moka Estate are deeply sought after by enthusiasts, but the originator of this processing method was actually not Moka Estate, but the female owner of Colombia's San Jose Estate. Next, Front Street Coffee will introduce this barrel-fermented coffee bean from San Jose Estate.

Front Street Coffee: Colombia San Jose Estate Coffee Beans

Region: Caldas, Colombia

Estate: San Jose Estate

Altitude: 1,750 meters

Grade: Supremo

Variety: Castillo

Processing: Fine washed rum barrel fermentation

San Jose Estate

With a century of heritage, Finca San Jose Estate is located in Colombia's Caldas region, where sunshine is abundant and the annual average temperature ranges from 21°C to 25°C. The estate covers a total area of 18 hectares, of which 16.5 hectares are dedicated to coffee cultivation.

In recent years, as the specialty coffee trend has surged, San Jose Estate has always actively sought breakthroughs, striving to forge a unique path of development. This also planted the seed for the eventual emergence of barrel fermentation processing.

The Birth of Barrel Fermentation Processing

According to Front Street Coffee, the barrel fermentation processing method at San Jose Estate was pioneered by the estate's third-generation female owner. The story began by chance: one day, while accompanying her husband (who is engaged in making rum oak barrels and brewing rum) as he filled rum distillate for fermentation, the female owner Monsalve Botero suddenly had a flash of inspiration—if green coffee beans were placed in oak barrels for fermentation, could it produce a unique flavor?

With this idea in mind, Monsalve Botero began in 2013 placing green beans into rum barrels of different ages for brewing-style low-temperature fermentation, comparing the fermented flavors presented over different durations, and through repeated experiments identifying the most suitable barrels and fermentation periods. Ultimately, she successfully locked in the optimal combination, obtaining a unique and satisfying flavor, thereby creating a rum barrel-fermented coffee distinct from traditional washed coffee. So what is the specific process of this processing method? Front Street Coffee will now share it with all coffee lovers.

Fine Washed Processing + Rum Barrel Fermentation

The owner of San Jose Estate selects Castillo variety coffee beans, hand-picks fully ripe cherries, ferments them for 20 hours after full washing, then places them into rum oak barrels aged over 8 years, leaving the beans in the barrels for three months, turning them once daily so they evenly absorb the rum aroma.

During barrel fermentation, samples of the coffee beans in the barrels are taken every 30 days to confirm the degree of fermentation and whether the rum aroma absorption is complete, avoiding under-absorption or over-absorption and ensuring the beans' characteristics are more vivid and complete when finished. After fermentation is complete, the rum-flavored coffee beans are sent to a greenhouse for drying. The greenhouse temperature is uniform, which prevents secondary fermentation caused by the high temperatures of sun-drying on African raised beds.

Since this Colombian San Jose coffee bean uses the same processing method as the two Honduran coffee beans at Front Street Coffee, Front Street Coffee conducted a cupping comparison of these beans and concluded: the two Honduran barrel-fermented coffee beans present their flavors in the order of rum aroma first, followed by soft fruit acidity, and finally a creamy mouthfeel with nutty and cocoa flavors.

While this San Jose rum barrel-fermented coffee bean presents nutty and cocoa flavors with a creamy mouthfeel first, followed closely by rum aroma, then the acidity of tropical fruits and the sweetness of maple syrup coming one after another.

Colombia San Jose Estate Coffee Bean Variety

Unlike the varieties of Honduras Sherry and Lychee Orchid coffee beans, San Jose Estate uses the Castillo variety, which is widely planted in Colombia. This variety was developed by Colombia's coffee research institution in 2005 based on enhancing plant disease resistance, and is currently Colombia's main cultivated variety. This bean's green coffee is blue-green in color and smells of intense fermentation and ripe fruit aromas.

The History of Castillo Variety Coffee Development

According to Front Street Coffee, the origin of this variety can be traced back to 1961, when CENICAFE began researching the Timor variety, which carries Robusta lineage. Thereafter, CENICAFE continued its research and development, releasing its second disease-resistant variety, Tabi (a cross of Typica, Bourbon, and Timor), in 2002.

In 2005, they released a new coffee seed named Castillo, taken from the name of the scientist who led the research, Jaime Castillo Zapata. Finally, after the large-scale outbreak of coffee leaf rust in 2008, Colombia began vigorously promoting the cultivation of the Castillo variety.

Colombian Coffee Bean Grades

Of course, according to Front Street Coffee, Colombia also has its own unique coffee bean grading system, and this San Jose Estate coffee bean from Front Street Coffee is made from the highest-grade local coffee beans. The following are Colombia's coffee bean grading standards:

The above is the relevant information about San Jose Estate coffee beans compiled by Front Street Coffee. We hope this article can help coffee lovers gain a deeper understanding of related coffee bean knowledge. Secondly, Front Street Coffee conducts extensive brewing tests before launching each new coffee bean. Next, Front Street Coffee will share how San Jose Estate coffee beans present their flavors when brewed at different temperatures.

Front Street Coffee San Jose Estate Coffee Bean Pour-Over Parameters Sharing

Front Street Coffee chose three water temperatures for brewing: 92°C, 90°C, and 88°C. In this experiment, only the water temperature was changed, while other parameters and techniques were kept as consistent as possible.

Parameters: Dripper: Hario V60, dose: 15g, medium-fine grind (BG 6M: 58% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve), coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15, staged extraction.

[Water Temperature: 92°C]

Bloom with 25g of water for 30 seconds, pour in a small stream in circles around the center until reaching 126g, then pause; when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring with a slightly larger stream until reaching 226g; when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the beginning of the bloom.) Extraction time: 1 minute 40 seconds. Flavor: It smells of intense fermentation aroma; on the palate, there are chocolate and caramel flavors with soft fruit acidity and a slight smoky note.

[Water Temperature: 90°C]

Bloom with 27g of water for 30 seconds, pour in a small stream in circles around the center until reaching 125g, then pause; when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring with a slightly larger stream until reaching 226g; when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the beginning of the bloom.) Extraction time: 1 minute 43 seconds.

Flavor: It smells of intense fermented rum aroma; on the palate, there are rum, nuts, tropical fruits, dark berries, cream, and an oolong tea sensation, with obvious sweetness and an overall balanced profile.

[Water Temperature: 88°C]

Bloom with 28g of water for 30 seconds, pour in a small stream in circles around the center until reaching 125g, then pause; when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring with a slightly larger stream until reaching 226g; when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the beginning of the bloom.) Extraction time: 1 minute 42 seconds.

Flavor: It smells of a light fermentation aroma; on the palate, there are chocolate, nuts, citrus, jackfruit, and tropical fruit flavors. The overall flavor leans more toward fruity notes.

Front Street Coffee Pour-Over Summary

Comparing the San Jose brewed at three different water temperatures, the coffee brewed at 88°C leans toward fruity acidity, while brewing at 90°C better expresses this bean's sweetness and balance. Therefore, Front Street Coffee recommends choosing a water temperature of 88°C–90°C for brewing this bean. Why not recommend brewing at a higher temperature? Because this bean's roast level is medium roast, and combined with its relatively deep fermentation, the bean structure is looser, so using too high a water temperature during brewing can easily cause over-extraction.

The above is the pour-over sharing compiled by Front Street Coffee. We hope it can help coffee lovers make pour-over coffee at home.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.