Colombia — Huver Castillo & Andrés Martínez "Blackberry Washed" Co-Ferment Blend: El Sendero Caturra Blackberry Honey (70%) & El Paseo Pink Bourbon Chamomile (30%)

Tastes Like — 🌺 Hibiscus Tea • 🫐 Blueberry • 🍬 Panela Sugar • 🥐 Almond Croissant

DETAILS

• Producers: Huver Castillo & Andrés Martínez
• Farms: El Sendero (Cauca) & El Paseo (Nariño)
• Region: Cauca & Nariño, Colombia
• Varietals: Caturra (70%) & Pink Bourbon (30%)
• Process: Co-Ferment (Blackberry Honey 70% + Chamomile 30%)
• Elevation: 1,750–1,900 masl

INTRO
As far as co-ferments go, this duo is pretty chill: an unknowing recipient may not even identify it as a co-ferment at first sip. Super sweet and lightly fruited, like blueberries tossed in panela sugar, tea-like in texture and confectionary in taste, reminiscent of a tea party complete with hibiscus tea and almond croissants. In the cup: hibiscus tea, blueberry, panela sugar, and almond croissant.

THE PRODUCER
Huver Castillo comes from a long line of coffee growers in Colombia, but that wasn't part of the plan. Until 2015 he worked as a math teacher in Nariño, but in 2014, when global coffee prices plummeted, he returned to his coffee-growing roots, putting his family's farm and livelihood at risk. After years of trial and error, the Castillo family exported their first specialty lots in 2018. That shift from commodity to specialty, with a tireless focus on quality and improved processing, helped sustain the family business. Andrés Martínez, a biochemical engineer and fellow producer, has come alongside Huver to assist with processing experiments and business management. Together they have turned Huver's big risk into a remarkable triumph.

THE PROCESS
The blend combines two co-fermented lots. Blackberry Honey (Caturra, 70%): picked at peak ripeness at El Sendero in Cauca, pulped with the mucilage left intact, then anaerobically fermented for 72 hours alongside fresh Castilla blackberry juice and wine yeast, gently washed, and dried on African beds for 10–12 days. Chamomile (Pink Bourbon, 30%):picked at peak ripeness at El Paseo in Nariño, whole cherries ferment for 72 hours in a temperature-controlled anaerobic environment with a cooled chamomile concentrate added, then are pulped and fermented a further 24 hours with the previously fermented mucilage, gently washed, and dried on African beds for 10–12 days.

The blackberry juice and wine-yeast fermentation paired with a chamomile-infused one is the defining structure. It's what builds the blueberry-and-panela sweetness and tea-like, confectionary character behind this cup.

THE CUP
Super sweet and lightly fruited: hibiscus tea and blueberry lead, with panela sugar sweetness and almond croissant richness, tea-like in texture and confectionary rather than funky.

Flavour Notes
🌺 Hibiscus Tea 🫐 Blueberry 🍬 Panela Sugar 🥐 Almond Croissant