Skip to product information
El Recreo Washed Castillo
1/2
El Recreo Washed Castillo

El Recreo Washed Castillo

$12.00

While enjoying coffees with friends, we had a shared realization. In the time we had all been in specialty coffee, none of us had ever had a fully washed Castillo. It was pretty mind boggling. It felt like the right time to scoop this lot when it became available in the states. Ronaldo was a friend we made early on in our coffee roasting and sourcing journey. He quickly became a name that people would light up about if we mentioned in conversation. As well as being a genuine and passionate person, Ronaldo is a coffee professional with years as a sales rep. He has his own coffee brand called Disruptiva Coffee that roasts high quality microlots at origin and helps work with local producers to improve their processes. Now, he's taking on his next challenge in refining processes at the farm he grew up with, El Recreo. The primary population of mature plants on the farm is Castillo, but they are actively nursing new and interesting varietals. We cannot way to see what is coming down the road.

This is a unique opportunity to see what a castillo is like as an extra light coffee. In the cup, we find a tart acid like granny smith. There is balance and roundness to the body with notes like plum, and chocolate malt shake. On the aroma and finish, there are powerful earth-y and herbal notes.

This coffee launched on August 18th as part of Drop 11!
Farm and Producer

Ronaldo may be new to the coffee producing world, but he is not new to coffee at all. He grew up with his father's farm, El Recreo. When he got older, he stayed in coffee as well. He's worked as a sales rep across multiple Colombia specialty coffee export companies and built his own coffee brand, Disruptiva Coffee, which helps producers work on their coffee processes in Tolima and roasts high quality Colombia coffees lots directly at origin. Ronaldo has competed in Colombia Coffee competitions and has gained an incredible reputation as a coffee professional and genuine person during his travels selling coffee in the states. Now, he returns to the farm he grew up with in order to take on his next challenge in specialty coffee.

El Recreo is Ronaldo's father's farm. It is 3.5 hectares large and employees 5 people seasonally. El Recreo sits at 1780 masl in Moniquirá, Boyacá, which is a coffee growing region in Bogotá. The region remains relatively untapped for coffee production, but offers all the strong qualities one would need.

Coffee Varietal and Processing

Castillo traditionally gets some flak in industry as a lower cup quality varietal. It's also entirely common in Colombia now. It is a Cenicafé designed hybrid of Caturra and Timor. It was created for resiliency and efficiency. It is a high-yielding, low stature, leaf-rust resilient crop. It is known for solid, but not incredible, cup scores and often falls in field and roast blends for it ability to build body, carry some balanced malic or stone-fruit like acidity, and introduce chocolate or caramel sweetness to a profile. Since then, there has been much innovation in coffee. Many prominent Colombian producers have made names for themselves using advanced fermentation practice to bring up a Castillo's cup score as high as 87+. It has actually become harder and harder to find Castillo as a fully-washed, single varietal lot.

On smaller farms, coffee cherry will often get picked over the course of multiple days to increase lot sizes. This coffee gets picked over the course of a week and coffee is left in-cherry in water-filled open containers where some fermentation will occur. Coffee gets depulped, and then dry-fermented over the course of 16 hours. Finally, the coffee is washed and laid to rest on drying beds.
Cost Transparency

In our short time in coffee, Ronaldo's name quickly became one that would make people's eyes light up when you mentioned. It is because he is a passionate, kind and genuine person who leaves a lasting impact on the people he crosses in coffee. Many of our Colombia export partners know and love him as a big part of local coffee community there too. Aidan first met Ronaldo while he was a sales rep for Forest Coffee. After the cupping event, we continued chatting as he shared stories about the farmers we was working with, his own coffee path, as well as the gravel biking hobby, which Aidan and him shared. When he told us his father had a farm, we later messaged him saying that if his coffee was ever exported to the states, we wanted to buy it. Sure enough, Ronaldo has since moved to Unblended and is even now a producer on their profile list. He's taking steps to help uplift the farm he grew up with. Right now, they just grow Castillo, but he's actively planting new varietals to see what takes and refining fermentation practice on the farm.

Green cost: $14.30/kg ($5/kg airship)
Package and roasting costs: $2.91/bag; $10/kg
Profile and sample use: ~0kg
Approx. Margin: --%
Brewing and Resting Recommendation

Resting: Wait 30 days for the Nordic and 40 days for the Ultralight to have a less gassy tasting experience. Degas the night before by opening bag and then sealing. We're impatient and think this has tasted peak flavor (but gassy) as early as 21 days after roast too.

We've primarily enjoyed this offering as a pourover.

Temperature range: 198-201°F
Water: Tap/Demineralized and Third Wave Water Light Roast
Grind Settings: Medium Coarse (700-750µm)
Target Drawdown Time: 2:45-3:00

4 Pour Recipe:
1. Pour 1/4 water every 30 seconds with high agitiation. Swirl the dripper on the bloom.
Drop Variants

Drops are typically prepared in two formats: a standard 100g / 200g bag offering at your preferred roast level or as a roast experiment.

  • Standard bag lets you support the producer, exporter, and the project without having to buy and drink coffee you're less interested in. You still get to observe and critique our roast methods at your preferred lightness but in larger quantities.
  • Roast experiment lets you participate in 3 blind tastings of 60g bags to evaluate 3 different roast curves. After the drops have been released, profile info and our own sensory feedback will be shared alongside any collected feedback from tasters.

Note that roast level selection does not apply to experiments sent out.
When will I get my order?

This is a side project that isn't in a place to pay our bills at the moment. We're actively trying our best in the two days we work on Base Coat a week to fulfill as quickly as possible. Volume has gone significantly up recently -- a great problem to have -- and we're doing our best to adapt. We roast every two weeks and try to get orders out within a week of your order placement. At latest, it takes us two weeks and if that is the case, expect an extra item in your bag as an apology.

Our times vary on roaster rental availability and our limited roasting schedule. We typically roast on two subsequent days twice a month. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email with further information. Delivery times vary on location.
Return policy

Because we are selling an agricultural product with limited shelf life, we do not accept returns. However, our goal is for every customer to be absolutely satisfied with their purchase. If you aren't enjoying the experience, let us know in an Instagram DM and we'll do our best to work with you to make it right!

You may also like