September Coffee Co. - Elder Castro - Colombia Washed Pink Bourbon

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Colombia — Elder Castro Garcia Finca Las Acacias Pink Bourbon (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍓 Raspberry & Strawberry • 🍬 Candy Floss • 🍵 Black Tea

DETAILS

• Producer: Elder Castro Garcia
• Farm: Finca Las Acacias
• Region: El Cerrito, La Plata, Huila, Colombia
• Varietal: Pink Bourbon
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,850 MASL
• Size: 200g

INTRO

A debut lot from Elder Castro Garcia at Finca Las Acacias — a clean, bright, and elegantly structured washed Pink Bourbon that earned him 4th place at the Western Copa de Oro competition. Fresh red berry vibrancy, candy floss sweetness, and a delicate black tea finish in a light-bodied cup with a round, satisfying close. In the cup: raspberries and strawberries, candy floss, and black tea.

THE PRODUCER

Elder Castro Garcia is a coffee producer from the rural township of El Cerrito in La Plata, Huila — a region renowned for its exceptional growing conditions and the quality of specialty lots it consistently produces. His farm, Finca Las Acacias, is planted with approximately 5,000 trees per hectare — predominantly two to five-year-old plants across Colombia, Geisha, Pink Bourbon, and Sidra varieties. Alongside coffee, Elder grows and sells avocados locally, reflecting the diversified approach that characterises smallholder farming in Huila's mountains.

Pink Bourbon is a variety primarily grown in Huila, genetically identified as Ethiopian Landrace and belonging to the Core Ethiopia group. Prized for its bright, sweet, and aromatic profiles, it thrives at 1,850 MASL in La Plata's distinct microclimate — and in Elder's hands, its characteristic red berry freshness and delicate floral qualities are given full, clean expression.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Finca Las Acacias involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Pink Bourbon cherries hand-selected and brought in from the field by local and itinerant pickers 💧 Flotation — Floated to remove lower-density beans before fermentation 🔒 Whole cherry fermentation — Cherries placed in plastic bags for 36 hours before de-pulping 🔧 Depulping — Fully de-pulped after the initial fermentation 🧪 Dry fermentation — Depulped beans dry-fermented for a further 40 hours 💧 Rinsing — Parchment rinsed after fermentation to remove all residue 🏚️ Parabolic greenhouse drying — Dried on raised beds inside a parabolic greenhouse dryer for 15–20 days

The two-stage fermentation — 36 hours in the whole cherry followed by 40 hours dry after depulping — is the defining step. Building complexity and sweetness across two distinct phases while maintaining the crisp, clean character that makes this Pink Bourbon such a compelling competition lot, before the greenhouse drying preserves the light body and round finish that complete the cup.

THE CUP

A crisp, clean, and beautifully balanced washed Pink Bourbon from one of La Plata's most promising young producers — fresh raspberry and strawberry brightness, candy floss sweetness, and a delicate black tea finish in a light-bodied cup with a round, lingering close. A Copa de Oro 4th-place debut that speaks volumes about what Elder Castro Garcia is capable of.

Flavour Notes

🍓 Raspberry & Strawberry 🍬 Candy Floss 🍵 Black Tea