Colombia | Area 18 | Castillo | Natural

Origin

• 🇨🇴 Colombia

Tasting notes

Character

• Funky
  20

Region: Punta Larga, Popayán , Cauca Elevation: 1780 masl About: Area 18 is a collaborative project established in 2024 with the goal of rethinking how coffee can be utilised beyond the bean itself. Bringing together three companies focused on sustainability, processing innovation, and agricultural development, the initiative explores ways to maximise the value of the coffee fruit while reducing waste through circular production practices. This CastilloCastilloColombia's leaf-rust-resistant variety, bred by Cenicafé from Caturra and Timor hybrid. Long dismissed by purists, it now wins competitions when grown and processed well. naturalNatural processThe whole cherry is dried with the fruit still on the seed. Gives heavier body and big fruit flavors — think berries and wine — sometimes with a fermenty edge. lot was produced at Agroparque Las Villas in Punta Larga, Cauca, a farm and ecological project founded near Popayán in 2012. Originally centred around ecotourism, rural lodging, and biodiversity conservation, coffee has gradually become central to the property’s identity and agricultural work. Following sorting and cleaning, the cherries are placed into a controlled bioreactor environment for 48 hours. Oxygen flow, temperature, and other environmental variables are carefully regulated to encourage the activity of naturally occurring yeast strains present on the Castillo cherries. As fermentation progresses, these microorganisms consume sugars within the pulp and mucilage while developing aromatic compounds that shape the coffee’s final profile.