Colombia — Jairo Arcila Castillo

Tastes Like — 🍬 Sour Candy • 🍒 Cherry Popsicle • 🌺 Hibiscus Tea

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DETAILS

• Producer: Jairo Arcila (third-generation)
• Farm: Finca Santa Mónica
• Region: Armenia, Quindío, Colombia
• Varietal: Castillo
• Process: Co-ferment (Dragonfruit & Honey)
• Altitude: 1500 masl
• Size: 12oz / 340g

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INTRO — Dragonfruit Co-Fermentation from a Master of Alternative Processing

Jairo Arcila is renowned throughout specialty coffee for his impeccably executed co-fermentation experiments, and this dragonfruit lot exemplifies why. After extended anaerobic fermentation with honey and dried, powdered dragonfruit, this coffee drinks like a first-class ticket to Flavortown—intensely aromatic, wildly flavourful, and absolutely not for the faint of heart. Sour candy, cherry popsicles, purple flowers, and hibiscus tea turned up to eleven.

The Arcila family coffee empire spans more than 80 years in Colombia, and Jairo—a third-generation producer who purchased his first farm in 1987—manages six farms throughout the Armenia region. As a specialist in alternative fermentation processes, he's committed to championing biodiversity, sustainability, and quality whilst making a significant economic impact in his community.

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THE PRODUCER — Jairo Arcila & the Arcila Family Legacy

The Arcila family has been producing coffee in Colombia for over 80 years, accumulating knowledge and expertise that spans three generations. Jairo Arcila represents the contemporary evolution of this legacy—respecting tradition whilst pushing boundaries through experimental processing that's positioned him as one of Colombia's most innovative producers.

Jairo purchased his first coffee farm in 1987 and now manages six farms throughout the Armenia region of Quindío. This multi-farm operation allows him to experiment with different varieties, processing methods, and terroirs whilst maintaining the volume and consistency that specialty coffee markets demand. Each farm becomes a laboratory where he can test theories about fermentation, develop new processing protocols, and discover what different varieties can achieve under various conditions.

What sets Jairo apart is his commitment to biodiversity and sustainability alongside quality. Rather than monoculture coffee production, he cultivates mandarin, orange, plantain, and banana across his farms. This diversification provides multiple harvest seasons, employing local workers year-round and making a significant economic impact in his community. It's a model that benefits everyone—workers have more stable employment, the farms are more environmentally sustainable, and the biodiversity likely contributes to healthier coffee plants and soil.

Jairo's expertise in alternative fermentation processes has made him particularly renowned in specialty coffee circles. Co-fermentation experiments like this dragonfruit lot aren't gimmicks—they're carefully executed protocols developed through years of trial, error, and refinement. When someone with Jairo's experience and resources decides to ferment coffee with dragonfruit and honey, you can trust the result will be impeccably executed even if wildly experimental.

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THE PROCESS — Dragonfruit & Honey Co-Ferment

This is advanced fermentation technique—the kind of processing that requires both expertise and confidence. One misstep in timing, temperature control, or ingredient ratios could produce defects instead of deliciousness. Jairo's protocol demonstrates why he's considered a master:

• 🍒 Peak Ripeness Harvesting — Only fully ripe Castillo cherries selected
• ⚙️ Pulping — Cherries depulped to expose mucilage-covered parchment
• 🥭 Co-ferment Preparation — Dried, powdered dragonfruit mixed with honey
• 🔬 Extended Anaerobic Fermentation — Parchment sealed in plastic bags with dragonfruit-honey mixture
• 💨 Oxygen-Free Environment — Sealed bags create anaerobic conditions intensifying fermentation
• ☀️ Raised Bed Drying — Extended drying until optimal moisture content achieved

The anaerobic environment is crucial. By sealing the mucilage-covered parchment in plastic bags with dragonfruit powder and honey, oxygen is excluded, creating fermentation conditions that develop unique flavour compounds impossible in traditional aerobic processing. The dragonfruit and honey don't just add flavour—they introduce specific sugars and microbes that interact with the coffee's natural chemistry in complex ways.

The extended fermentation period allows these interactions to develop fully. Too short and you'd get incomplete flavour development; too long and you risk over-fermentation and defects. Jairo's experience shows in getting this timing precisely right—developing intense aromatics and wild flavours whilst maintaining cup cleanliness.

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THE VARIETY — Castillo as Experimental Canvas

Castillo is typically grown for disease resistance and yield rather than cup quality—it's a Catimor-derived variety bred specifically to resist coffee leaf rust whilst maintaining reasonable productivity. Most specialty roasters wouldn't consider Castillo for experimental processing, preferring exotic varieties like Geisha or Pink Bourbon.

However, Jairo's choice of Castillo for this dragonfruit co-ferment is strategic. Castillo's relatively neutral base profile makes it an ideal canvas for experimental processing. Without the pronounced florals of Geisha or the complex fruit of Ethiopian landraces, Castillo allows the co-fermentation to express fully without competing characteristics. The wild dragonfruit and honey flavours can develop without being obscured by the variety's genetics.

This also demonstrates that exceptional coffee isn't just about genetics—it's about the entire chain from cultivation through processing. Jairo has proven that with expert processing, even commercial varieties like Castillo can produce genuinely exciting specialty coffee.

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THE CUP — Intensely Aromatic Flavortown Experience

This coffee drinks easier than it smells—but it's still wild. Intensely aromatic and wildly flavourful, this is the kind of coffee that polarizes: some will find it revolutionary, others overwhelming. There's no middle ground with co-ferments this bold. Sour candy, cherry popsicles, purple flowers, and hibiscus tea all turned up to maximum volume.

Flavour Notes

• 🍬 Sour Candy — intense, tart sweetness reminiscent of Warheads or similar sour sweets
• 🍒 Cherry Popsicle — artificial cherry character, sweet and icy like frozen treats
• 🌺 Hibiscus Tea — tart, floral tea character providing the structural backbone
• 🌸 Purple Flowers — perfumed, purple-tinged florals adding aromatic complexity

The sour candy character hits immediately—there's a tartness and intensity that's almost shocking, like biting into a Warhead. Cherry popsicle follows, that distinctive artificial cherry flavour that's somehow both nostalgic and surreal in coffee. Purple flowers weave throughout, perfumed and aromatic in ways washed coffee never approaches. The hibiscus tea character emerges particularly in the finish—tart, floral, with those characteristic tannic qualities that provide structure.

The aromatics are truly extraordinary—opening the bag releases an explosion of fruit and flower scents that don't quite smell like coffee. The cup itself maintains cleanliness despite the intensity—there are no off-flavours or defects, just wild, unconventional characteristics executed with precision.

This is not daily-driver coffee. This is an experience—coffee as culinary adventure, as conversation starter, as proof that fermentation can transform coffee into something almost unrecognizable whilst remaining genuinely delicious. Jairo Arcila's dragonfruit co-ferment proves that with enough expertise and confidence, the boundaries of what coffee can taste like are far wider than most realise.

What is the roast recency?

We recommend brewing with beans that are at least two weeks off roast. All beans are roasted to peak flavour at around 6-12 weeks. We have the option to either purchase standard beans (at least 2 weeks but no longer than 6 weeks off roast), or rested beans (at least 7 weeks off roast, no longer than 12 - should we have any left in stock!). For peak flavour, if you are looking to use immediately, we recommend purchasing the rested beans. If you are adding to your rotation of beans, we recommend purchasing the standard and allowing the beans to naturally rest and mature whilst you rotate through other beans.