Ecuador
German Castillo Giron

Washed process Caturra, Pacamara

Flavour: grape hubba bubba, rockmelon, sherbet

Body: Acidity:

It’s been over a year since we shared a coffee from Ecuador, and we’re celebrating the return with this delicious coffee from the farm of German Castillo Giron.

His farm is located amongst the Amazon rainforest, in the province of Zamora-Chinchipe in Ecuador’s south east and not far from the border with Peru.

Surrounded by jungle and virgin forests, it’s a very difficult farm to access. The journey in starts with a two hour drive from Zumba, the nearest major town, and then a further three hours travel on foot.

The region’s remote and exotic location makes this farm unique for its biodiversity and microclimates. German believes that “The sustainable progress and development of communities can only be done by getting together, working as a team, and respecting the environment together.”

We’re very excited to be getting more coffee from Ecuador as it has the potential to be one of the most interesting origins for specialty coffee. Already known to be one of the most biologically diverse countries, Ecuador has the largest number of plant species per square metre in the Americas: a big positive for coffee growers as it provides a set of unique growing conditions for a great range of coffee plant varietals.

Though relatively new to specialty coffee, we think this region has lots of untapped potential as they get access to more tools and education to keep lifting quality.

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Caturra, Pacamara coffee beans, provided by Caravela and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.

Green coffee certified Organic.

Country grade: Unknown ?

Packaging

Bag: ABA Certified home compostable
Label: Recyclable
Valve (on bags larger than 250g): General waste
Coffee ordered online is shipped in a recyclable cardboard box

Brewing this coffee

We recommend brewing this coffee 15–49 days post-roast. If pre-ground, brew as soon as possible. Our advice on storing coffee.

1:3
dose:yield
ratio

To brew on espresso, we recommend using 20g of beans (dose) to get 60g of espresso out (yield), during 24-28 seconds.

g dose

g yield

View the how to brew espresso (single origin) guide.

1:16.7
beans:water
ratio

To brew in infusion/fed brewers (V60, Chemex) use a ratio of 1:16.7 ratio of beans:water.

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:14.3
beans:water
ratio

To brew in immersion brewers (plunger, AeroPress, Kalita, batch brewer) we recommend using a 1:14.3 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:12
beans:water
ratio

To brew as cold brew we recommend using a 1:12 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

Producer: German Castillo Giron
Country: Ecuador
Region: Zamora Chinchipe
Altitude: 1500m above sea level
Varietals: Caturra, Pacamara
Process: washed
Harvested: August 2017
Body: Medium
Acidity: Medium
Tasting notes: Grape hubba bubba, rockmelon, sherbet
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Varietals

Caturra varietal

Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon that was originally discovered in Brazil in 1937, considered to be the first naturally occurring mutation ever discovered.

Pacamara varietal

A cross-breed between Pacas and Maragogype, developed in El Salvador in 1958

The location

Coffee from Ecuador

For a long time most of Ecuador’s coffee production was for commodity grade export or the production of soluble coffees (freeze dried coffee). Only in the last few years has the potential of the country’s coffee production been really explored. We’re very excited about the potential Ecuador and have some truly exceptional coffees

The Zamora Chinchipe region of Ecuador

The region sits east of Loja with high rates of organic production

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.