Colombia Alfredo Castaño

Alfredo Castaño Torres is a third generation coffee producer with Q Processing level 2 certification. His father managed coffee farms throughout his childhood and as a result Alfredo became fascinated with the cultivation and production of coffee. Castaño is a member of the 200 strong Asocafe Tatama Santuario, an association located in the north west of Risaralda province that has been working collectively towards speciality coffee production with the goal of paying better prices to its members.

The “remonta washed process” is similar to anaerobic processing whereby the coffee is sealed and fermented in a long rectangular can-like vessel. The vessel is turned at certain intervals to ensure that the coffee is fermented consistently across the batch and the fermentation juice homogenises with the beans equally. In this case the method was implemented across ten days before the coffee was washed. Such coffees tend to achieve a profile similar to washed coffee but with an enhanced elevated acidity.

V60 Brewing Recipe

What you’ll need:

• A Hario V60 brewer and a carafe or large enough cup
• V60 filters
• Ground coffee (medium)
• Scale
• Timer
• Hot water just off the boil (or between 93 - 96°C).

While a regular kitchen kettle will work fine, we recommend a gooseneck pouring kettle for added precision.

We recommend a 1:16 ratio (but as always, adjust to your personal taste), and a medium grind setting. In this guide we’re going to use 20g coffee and 320g water.

Method:

1. Boil your kettle. Place the V60 brewer on top of the carafe or mug, and place both atop the scale. Add your filter. Rinsing your filter isn’t mandatory but will help pre-heat the brewer and your receptacle (just remember to discard the water before brewing!)
2. Tare the scale then add your coffee and give the brewer a gentle shake or tap to level the grounds. Tare again.
3. Start the timer and add about 20g of water, aiming to saturate all the grounds. This is called the bloom phase, and it allows the coffee to degas—it will probably bubble up and expand a bit. The fresher the coffee, the bigger the bloom will be.
4. After 30 seconds, begin to pour until you have about 100g of water. Try to pour slowly in circles, saturating the grounds evenly.
5. Continue to pour in roughly 50g increments (or pulses) until you reach 320g. Your timer should read between 2:45 and 3:00. Option: give the V60 a couple of taps to flatten the bed and help uniform extraction.
6. Wait for the water to fully pass through the bed of coffee and into the carafe or cup; all being well it should finish about 3:30. Serve and enjoy!

Notes:

• For more on the differences between immersion and percolation, check out this blog post from Coffee ad Astra.
• If your coffee takes a lot longer than 3 minutes to brew, chances are it’s ground too finely and the water is having trouble passing through the bed. If it takes too long, the final cup may taste overextracted or sour. If it goes really fast, it’s probably too coarse and might taste weak. Chances are it’s still fine to drink, just make a note and adjust the grind next time.

Colombia’s reputation as a specialty coffee-producing powerhouse is well known and well deserved. Overall the world’s third largest coffee exporting country, Colombia tops the charts when it comes to arabica, with over 11 million bags produced every year.

First cultivated in the country in the 18th century, coffee production began in earnest in 1808 and has played an important part in the country’s economy ever since. Most coffee in Colombia is grown by small farmers—60 percent of producers cultivate less than one hectare of coffee, while less than one percent have more than 20 hectares.

Colombia's mountainous terrain and diverse microclimates makes it an ideal place for coffee to thrive, and also allows for distinct variations in taste profile depending on the region, farm, and sometimes even plots of specific farms.

More than half a million families grow coffee in the country, most on farms of two hectares or less. The Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC), created in 1927, oversees the industry on a national level, with cooperatives and smaller farmer's unions operating regionally.

The FNC was created to defend the interests of its owners, the small-scale farmers who produce the bulk of the country's coffee, as well as to promote the production and exportation of Colombian coffee more generally.

Castillo, named for the researcher Jamie Castillo who helped develop the variety in 2005, is resistant to leaf rust and has quickly become the most planted coffee in Colombia. Coffee leaf rust (la roya in Spanish) has impacted coffee growing in Colombia, among many other countries, and remains a looming threat as the planet heats.

Did you know?

• The FNC is well known for its classic Juan Valdez marketing campaign, wherein an actor portraying a coffee farmer (alongside his mule, Conchita) extols the virtues of Colombian coffee. It has spawned many offshoots and parodies, as well as an international chain of cafes.
• The Coffee Triangle, comprising four departments including Risaralda, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
• Parque del Café (Coffee Park) is a theme park devoted to coffee located in the department of Quindío. Owned by the FNC, it features a museum and exhibitions as well as an amusement park and animatronic show.

Our speciality coffees are 100% traceable and ethically sourced. We work direct with farmers, or through trusted partners, to bring you the best coffee from around the world.

Sourced in partnership with: Raw Material
Importer relationship: Since 2026