What is Colombian coffee like from Finca San Jose?
Finca San Jose sits in the Caldas region of Colombia at 1,750 meters and grows the Castillo variety, a rust-resistant plant released by Cenicafé in 2005. The beans go through a refined washed rum barrel fermentation: after depulping, the cherries rest in aged oak barrels at low temperature, then are washed and dried on racks. The cup shows rum, rum chocolate, tropical fruit, and maple syrup sweetness.
For pour-over, use 15 grams of coffee to 225 milliliters of water, a 1:15 ratio, at 90 to 91 degrees Celsius. Castillo was bred to match Caturra in cup quality while adding yield and leaf rust resistance, and it followed the earlier Colombia variety that spread after leaf rust first appeared in 1983. This bean offers a clear example of how origin country and processing shape flavor.
Located in the Caldas region, Finca San Jose infuses the Castillo variety with distinctive rum and tropical fruit notes through its unique refined washed rum barrel fermentation process. This article will guide you through the bean's origin background, processing details, and the development of the Castillo variety in Colombia, while sharing Front Street Coffee's recommended brewing parameters and cupping flavor profile.
Front Street Coffee Colombia Finca San Jose Country: Colombia Region: Caldas Farm: Finca San Jose Altitude: 1750 meters Grade: Supremo Variety: Castillo Process: Refined washed rum barrel fermentation Based on SCA recommended standards, it is suggested to use 15 grams of coffee powder with 225 milliliters of water at 90 to 91 degrees Celsius for pour-over, with a water-to-coffee ratio of 1:15. The flavor profile of this bean is: rum, rum chocolate, tropical fruits, and the sweetness of maple syrup. Refined Washed Rum Barrel Process The coffee used in this process is a Castillo variety that has been sorted, with a screen size of approximately 17 to 18 mesh. After the coffee cherries are depulped, they are placed in aged oak barrels for low-temperature fermentation, After the low-temperature fermentation is completed, they are washed and then placed on drying racks to complete the drying process. The aroma of the final product intertwines the charm of rum with the scent of oak barrels, creating a rather captivating layering.
Castillo was developed by the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) in collaboration with the National Coffee Research Center Cenicafé, representing a new generation of varieties with resistance to leaf rust. Cenicafé's breeding objective was to further enhance yield and resistance, while enabling cup quality and flavor to compete with Caturra. In the latter half of the last century, Caturra gradually replaced Colombia's traditional old varieties to become the country's main cultivated species; in 1982, the coffee research center released the Colombia variety; in 1983, leaf rust first appeared in Colombia, and the disease-resistant Colombia variety was thus widely promoted. In 2005, the research team introduced Castillo based on the Colombia variety, and the FNC vigorously promoted the adoption of the new variety through a series of agricultural and financial policies. Just a decade later, by 2015, literature indicated that Castillo already accounted for 40% of Colombia's total coffee cultivation area. The leaf rust epidemic between 2008 and 2010 also objectively accelerated the spread of Castillo. However, the large-scale promotion of this variety once sparked intense discussions among coffee farmers and roasters, with controversies often revolving around whether Castillo carries Robusta genes and how it performs in the cup compared to Caturra. In December 2014 and January 2015, several internationally renowned coffee organizations, research institutions, and well-known coffee companies jointly conducted a sensory cupping evaluation of Castillo and Caturra. The samples came from 25 farms in the Nariño region of Colombia, providing both types of beans. In terms of results, it can be summarized as: Castillo's cup performance is satisfactory.
Finca San Jose With a century-long history, Finca San Jose Estate is located in the area of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, where the soil is rich in volcanic ash, sunlight conditions are excellent, and the average annual temperature remains between 21°C and 25°C. The estate covers a total area of 18 hectares, of which 16.5 hectares are used for coffee cultivation. In the recent wave of specialty coffee, Finca San Jose has always actively sought breakthroughs, hoping to forge a path of its own. The estate's owner, Monsalve Botero, has a husband who specializes in the manufacturing of rum oak barrels and rum brewing. On one occasion, while she was filling distillate to prepare for fermentation, she had a flash of inspiration: if raw coffee beans were placed in oak barrels for fermentation, could it give rise to a uniquely distinctive flavor? Thus, Monsalve Botero began experimenting with rum barrel low-temperature fermentation of varying durations starting in 2013, and it was not until 2018 that the ideal solution was finalized, ultimately presenting this bean that differs from conventional washed processing.
[Front Street Coffee Colombia Finca San Jose] Cupping flavor profile: rum, rum chocolate, tropical fruits, maple syrup.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
