Cesar Buesaquillo - (Multi-stage Fermentation, Castillo) SCA: 89

Origin: Colombia

Farm: La Esmeralda

Varietal: Castillo

Altitude: 1800 MASL

Certification: Micro-lot

Process: Multi-stage Fermentation

Cup Score: 89

Black Grapes, Cocoa & Brown Sugar

Produced using the latest version of the well regarded dual experimental fermentation method known as the Natural EF2 process, by the very small family run farm, La Esmeralda - this wonderful rich and sticky fruit-forward Castillo is the product of a carefully controlled method that combines aerobic & anaerobic fermentation to enhance the coffee’s complexity and flavor profile.

A short ferment to highlight delicate and nuanced characteristics & a longer submerged ferment to develop complex, intense, and layered flavors - this clever and meticulous process creates a fantastic coffee.

Farm

La Esmeralda is a very small family run farm which is only 6-hectares, or 14 acres, in size and is located high in Buenavista, Quindio at 1800 m.a.s.l.

La Esmeralda has marvellous views across the region. Cesar has planted some beautiful shade trees on his farm such as Guamo, Yarumo, and Carbonero among others. He also grows other crops on his farm like bananas and avocados.

Producer

Cesar Buesaquillo was born into a traditional coffee farming family. Cesar, his wife Maria and their son Kevin manage all the operations at La Esmeralda.

Maria supports Cesar in every step of their family business. She guides Cesar and they tackle the important decisions together, they are a very strong team. Cesar has been involved in coffee farming all his life. His parents worked as coffee pickers and then farm managers on a variety of coffee farms.

He would visit the farms his parents worked on and in doing so he fell in love with coffee. Approximately 20 years ago, his parents were able to purchase La Esmeralda which Don Cesar and his family now own.

Cesar wanted to pursue Specialty Coffee practices and focus on more unique varieties so he had to change his approach to farming. He started planting Pink Bourbon and then Gesha.

He is now experimenting successfully with processing methods and believes quality should be the focus of his coffees moving forward into the future.

Process

Cesar, along with the team of pickers, collect only the ripest cherries.

Once collected cherries are then placed in the sorting area where the team hand-sorts and floats them to remove any low-density, underripe, or defective cherries.

Cherries then undergo a dry aerobic fermentation process for 24 hours.

During this initial phase, natural microorganisms start breaking down the sugars in the mucilage, unlocking the coffee’s flavor potential. Following this, the cherries are submerged in GrainPro bags for 50 hours of anaerobic fermentation, carefully maintained at temperatures below 22°C.

Once the fermentation stages are complete, the cherries are transferred to parabolic dryers where they are spread evenly in thin layers to ensure consistent airflow and exposure to sunlight.

The cherries are carefully monitored and turned regularly to achieve uniform drying and to prevent over-fermentation or mold. The drying process continues until the cherries reach a moisture content of 11%.