Colombia — Diego Samuel, Finca El Paraíso, Castillo (Washed Double P01)

Tastes Like — 🍑 Red Plum • 🍓 Raspberry • 🥐 Cinnamon Bun • 🍫 Chocolate Fudge

DETAILS

• Farmer: Diego Samuel
• Region: Tolima & Cauca, Colombia
• Varietal: Castillo
• Process: Washed, Double P01
• Altitude: 1,960 MASL
• Harvest: Autumn 2025
• Size: 200g

INTRO

Red Plum is one of Finca El Paraíso's celebrated process protocols — a washed method refined over multiple iterations to deepen and intensify red fruit character in the cup. Grown at 1,960 metres across Tolima and Cauca by Diego Samuel, this Castillo lot has been processed using the "double P01" method, a proprietary controlled-fermentation washed protocol designed to channel the natural fruitiness of the cherry into a profound red plum and raspberry profile with a pastry-like sweetness underneath. The Naughty Dog selected this lot for its vibrant juiciness and exceptional precision.

THE PRODUCER

Diego Samuel operates in the Tolima and Cauca regions of Colombia, growing at 1,960 metres — a significant altitude that brings slow ripening, high sugar density, and striking acidity to his lots. The farm has become associated with the El Paraíso processing facility's suite of innovative protocols, which combine controlled fermentation with precise washed processing to produce coffees of unusual depth and clarity.

Castillo, traditionally considered a "workhorse" variety chosen for disease resistance and yield, is here shown at its finest — demonstrating that with rigorous processing and the right altitude, it can produce cups of genuine complexity and elegance. The Double P01 process is El Paraíso's refined iteration of their washed protocol, applied twice to intensify fruit character whilst maintaining the transparency that marks great washed coffees.

THE PROCESS

The Washed Double P01 process involves:

• 🍒 Selective hand-harvesting — Only fully ripe red cherries are accepted
• 🔧 Depulping — Cherries are depulped to expose the mucilage-covered parchment
• 🧪 Controlled fermentation (stage 1) — First fermentation in a controlled environment to begin building fruit character
• 💧 Washing (stage 1) — Beans are washed to remove initial fermentation residue
• 🧪 Controlled fermentation (stage 2) — Second fermentation deepens and intensifies the red fruit profile — the "double" in Double P01
• 💧 Final washing — Complete washing removes all residue, locking in the developed flavour compounds
• ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Beans dry on African raised beds to completion

The double fermentation stage is what distinguishes this lot: each pass through the process builds on the last, concentrating the red plum character and adding the cinnamon-spiced warmth that gives this coffee its distinctive finishing note.

THE CUP

A joyful, fruit-forward cup with real substance. Red plum sweetness leads, followed by raspberry brightness, before a warm cinnamon bun note adds an unexpected pastry-like dimension to the mid-palate. Chocolate fudge grounds the finish, adding richness and length. Higher acidity that is pleasant and juicy rather than sharp. Outstanding as a filter; rich and expressive as an espresso.

Flavour Notes

• 🍑 Red Plum
• 🍓 Raspberry
• 🥐 Cinnamon Bun
• 🍫 Chocolate Fudge