Colombia
El Sauce

Washed process Castillo

Flavour: sweet malt, lemon tart, sherbet

Body: Acidity:

We’re happy to bring you another coffee from Colombia’s Nariño department, the part of the country with the highest production of coffee. We’ve shared some great coffees from Nariño in the past 12 months, and this is another favourite (and not just for the name).

At 2000 metres above sea level on the Eastern Andean range and only 100km from the Ecuadorian border, coffee producer Tito Ferney believed that it was possible to produce speciality coffee, and so he created Finca El Sauce. Along with his family, he planted the three hectare farm with Castillo trees.

The Castillo variety was created by the National Centre for Coffee Investigation (CNIC) to combat the leaf rust phenomenon. Since its creation in 2005, it has demonstrated high productivity and an excellent balanced cup.

Tito and his family start to handpick the ripe cherries in May, avoiding the green, yellow and pink ones, which are not yet ready for harvest. Once depulped and fermented for 12 hours, the beans are dried on patios for five days.

During this entire process Tito demonstrates his passion for coffee, carefully monitoring every step of the process. His crops grow in the rich soils which benefit from volcanic ash from the six active volcanoes in the region. He also takes advantage of the abundance of water in the region, keeping his trees strong and ready to produce better coffee every year. This is how he manages to offer the Western Coffee Cooperative such exceptional coffee year in year out.

Learn everything about this coffee:

Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

Dose: 20g ground coffee
Yield: 60g espresso
Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
Labels: recyclable
Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

Learn more:
Our packaging

Producer: Tito Verney Ortega
Country: Colombia
Region: Nariño
Altitude: 2000m above sea level
Variety: Castillo
Process: washed
Harvested: August 2017
Importer: Azahar
Body: Medium
Acidity: Balanced
Tasting notes: Sweet malt, lemon tart, sherbet
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Variety

Castillo variety

Castillo is named after the researcher Jamie Castillo, who helped develop the varietal in 2005 by Cenicafe, Colombia’s coffee research centre

The location

Coffee from Colombia

Colombia is one of the largest coffee producers in the world and benefits greatly from having one of the most unique and complex set of micro-climates of all coffee producing nations.

The Nariño region of Colombia

One of the highest growing regions in Colombia, producing some truly complex coffees

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.