Colombia - El Progreso

Background

El Progreso is owned by Oscar Eduardo Realpe and located in Cauca, Colombia, in the municipality of Totoro. Oscar’s parents have worked in coffee and in 2016, Oscar’s father won second place at a coffee competition called Cauca Best Cup. This was a huge encouragement to Oscar and his family. 

Today, Oscar is much more involved in work on the farm and processing, with the aim of continuous improvement. For this coffee, the cherries were placed inside plastic barrels, sealed tightly, and carbon dioxide was applied for 6 days. The barrels were rotated daily to maintain homogeneity in fermentation. 

Castillo as a cultivar did not enjoy the best flavour reputation in its early years of introduction. But over time, as the cultivar matured and stabilised, and as producers worked hard to improve agricultural practices, it’s undeniable that the Castillo is more than capable of delivering sweet, juicy, and ripe fruit flavours of high quality. Oscar’s natural Castillo is a prime example of this.