Colombia Forest Collective Caturra The Journey

A meticulously crafted anaerobic, semi-washed Caturra from Huver Castillo’s family farm in Nariño, bursting with amaretto, chocolate and cherry.

The coffee

• Tasting notes: amaretto, chocolate, cherry, red apple, vanilla, citric acid
• Variety: Caturra
• Process: Semi-washed (anaerobic)
• Category: Innovation
• Farmer: Huver Castillo
• Farm: El Paseo
• Region: Nariño, Colombia
• Municipality: Buesaco
• Altitude: 1,800m

The process

The process begins with 60 hours of aerobic fermentation in a concrete tank, where the cherries are floated to remove any that don’t meet quality standards. The coffee is then depulped and moved to anaerobic steel tanks, where the pH is monitored daily.

When the pH is close to 4.5, Huver adds a lactic acid bacteria mix made from cooked sugarcane and passion fruit, cultivating a fermentation profile he has perfected over four years. The coffee is then sun-dried for around 20 days and rested in GrainPro bags for a further 20 days before milling, preserving its unique character.

The producers

Huver is a third-generation coffee grower, but his close relationship with coffee is recent: until around 2015 he was a maths teacher at a school in Nariño. El Paseo, near Buesaco on the Suma Paz trail, has been in the family for more than 20 years and is one of three farms they own. Here Huver works alongside his father on slopes overlooking the Buesaco valley, between 1,750m and 1,950m, among native shade trees.

Hand-roasted in small batches in Hampshire. Join the OHCO Coffee Club to save 15% on every bag, with the freedom to pause, skip or cancel anytime.

• Espresso: about 18g in, 36–40g out in 25–30 seconds
• V60 / filter: 15g coffee to 250ml water just off the boil
• Cafetière: 30g coarse ground to 500ml water, steep for 4 minutes
• AeroPress: 15g to 200ml water, steep 1–2 minutes, then press
• Pick your grind under Grind above, or choose whole bean if you grind at home

• Whole beans taste best within 4–6 weeks of roasting
• Ground coffee loses its aroma faster, so use it within 1–2 weeks of opening
• Reseal the bag or use an airtight container, and keep it somewhere cool, dry and out of sunlight
• Skip the fridge: moisture and smells dull the flavour