Arturo Arango

Meet Arturo Arango, who has grown some luscious Castillo at 1450 metres on the volcanic soils of his El Paraíso farm in Barcelona, Quindío, Colombia. After handpicking and flotation sorting, the cherries travel to Cofinet's La Pradera station for a 30 hour underwater fermentation, and then a classic Colombian washed process. The result is a light, delicate cup that opens with nectarine, lifts through grapefruit acidity, sweetens with honey across the mid palate, and finishes on soft walnut. A delicious Castillo from the heart of Colombia's coffee axis.

Arturo Arango belongs to Colombia's new wave of quality focused producers. After completing studies in agroindustries in Argentina, he returned home drawn by the specialty coffee movement, and in 2015 he acquired El Paraíso, a 25 hectare farm in the municipality of Barcelona, in the department of Quindío. Much of his early work involved renewing ageing coffee trees and establishing higher quality varieties, among them Castillo, Caturra, Costa Rica, and Java. Arturo oversees each stage of production himself, from the agronomic care of the trees to the refinement of his processing methods. El Paraíso sits at 1450 metres above sea level on the volcanic soils of the central Andean range, where cool temperatures and a wide diurnal swing slow cherry maturation, allowing sugars and acids to accumulate gradually and building the clarity and balanced acidity found in the cup.

This lot was processed as a washed coffee. After handpicking and flotation sorting, the cherries were transported to La Pradera, a station operated by Cofinet, for a 30 hour underwater fermentation before pulping and washing, then dried to a target moisture of 9.5 to 11 percent. Light and delicate in body, the cup opens with nectarine, lifts through grapefruit acidity, sweetens with honey, and finishes on soft walnut.

Washed process – Castillo varietal grown at El Paraíso in Barcelona, Quindio at 1450 MASL.