COLOMBIA | El Zafiro | Castillo | Natural

Origin

• 🇨🇴 Colombia

Tasting notes

Character

• Bold
  50
• Funky
  20

Finca El Zafiro (The Sapphire) is an absolute gem and has been tended to by Nancy's family for close to 100 years. Today, the land is managed by Nancy, her husband Oscar, and their loyal dog, Trotsky. El Zafiro is located between the Central and Western Mountain ranges. The temperature here remains between 12-28 degrees Celcius, ideal for the slow maturation of coffee cherries and the development of complex flavor compounds. Around 30 years ago, a coffee leaf rust epidemic decimated the BourbonBourbonOne of the two foundational arabica varieties (with Typica), named after Île Bourbon (Réunion). Sweet, balanced, caramel-leaning; parent of countless modern cultivars. and TypicaTypicaThe oldest cultivated arabica lineage, ancestor of most Latin American coffee. Low yield, clean and sweet cup; the baseline other varieties are measured against. trees growing on El Zafiro, forcing Nancy and Oscar to replant with the more resistant 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. varietyVariety (cultivar)The botanical subtype of the coffee plant — Gesha, Bourbon, SL28 — analogous to grape varieties in wine. A major driver of cup character alongside origin and process.. This lot was processed using a traditional 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. method where whole coffee cherries are laid out to dry in a thin layer. This creates sweeter and more complex coffee with dark fruit and chocolate notes.