Amparo Botina | Colombia

Colombia — Amparo Botina El Encinal Caturra (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍊 Clementine • 🍵 Black Tea • 🍋 Fresh Lemon

DETAILS

• Producer: Amparo Botina & Edmundo Botina
• Farm: El Encinal
• Region: Pasto, Nariño, Colombia
• Varietal: Caturra
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,900–1,950 MASL
• Harvest: Late 2025
• Size: 250g

INTRO

A third year working with Amparo Botina at El Encinal in Nariño — and yet another exceptional demonstration of what Caturra can achieve in the right hands and at the right altitude. Clean, sweet, and beautifully balanced, this is a coffee built for daily drinking without compromise. In the cup: sweet clementines, delicate black tea, and fresh lemon, with a light body and a long citric finish.

THE PRODUCER

Amparo Moncayo Botina tends to every coffee tree on her farms with equal and dedicated devotion — farmer, wife, mother, and grandmother, carrying forward a family legacy rooted deeply in the land of Nariño. Together with her husband Edmundo, she cultivates Caturra on El Encinal and their neighbouring farm Los Arrayanes, where the hillsides are planted under shade alongside rows of fique — a distinctive feature of the farms that contributes to the exceptional microclimate behind the quality found in each lot.

Caturra, a natural mutation of Bourbon first discovered in Minas Gerais, Brazil, between 1915 and 1918, became one of the most economically important varieties in Central and South America for decades — a benchmark cultivar prized for its clean, balanced cup profile. At 1,900–1,950 MASL in Nariño, Amparo consistently demonstrates why it remains one of Colombia's most compelling varieties in skilled hands.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at El Encinal involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Cherries carefully selected at peak ripeness, ensuring balanced sugars and clean cup potential 🔧 De-pulping — Outer skin removed before fermentation 💧 Gentle washing — Beans washed before entering fermentation tanks 🧪 Controlled fermentation — Fermented in tanks for 18–24 hours, developing structure and clarity while preserving intrinsic character ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Transferred to raised drying beds for approximately 15 days

The controlled tank fermentation is the defining step — by managing duration precisely within an 18–24 hour window, Amparo builds just enough structure and depth in the cup to complement the Caturra's natural sweetness and citrus brightness, without overworking a variety that performs best when treated with a light touch.

THE CUP

A clean, sweet, and effortlessly balanced washed Caturra from one of Nariño's most devoted producers — clementine sweetness, delicate black tea florality, and a bright fresh lemon finish with a light body and a long, citric close. A coffee that earns its place as an exceptional daily cup.

Flavour Notes

🍊 Clementine 🍵 Black Tea 🍋 Fresh Lemon