Welcome to
Finca Castellon
This Grand Cru offering is from long time coffee professional Jairo Arcila. His farm in the Quindio region of Colombia is an incredible place. The farm is made up entirely of Geisha trees, and is about 70% shade grown.
Overall there are over 9,000 Geisha trees on the farm, and the original seeds came from Panama. This is an amazing example of the Geisha Varietal thriving in the right conditions.
We visited Finca Castellon in February and it is a proper farm. As we approached we were greeted by a dozen chickens, ducks, geese, and we heard rumors of a fox sneaking around. There is a house on the farm that is over 100 years old with an enchanting garden that feels even older.
The farm's caretaker Javier was there to welcome us. Javier lives on the farm year round and takes care of everything from the ducks to coffee.
He showed us around the farm for a few hours, pointing out mandarin trees, different types of birds, and of course all things Geisha. This farm is lush with healthy Geisha trees. The seeds of the Geisha tree are very long, and the flowering on the tree yields a very floral aroma.
With 70% of the farm being shaded there were plenty of opportunities to see the difference in production from a tree that was shaded versus a tree that was exposed to full sun. The volume of cherry that a tree under the shade produces is nearly 3-4 times more.
Some of the shade trees are old Guamos trees which are fruit trees similar to Guanabana, also known as soursop. The Guamos trees produce a lot of nitrogen which gives the soil the right amount of nutrients to then promote the floral notes inherent in the Geisha tree. These types of symbiotic relationships are crucial in producing good coffee. The best coffee almost always comes from a farm like this. There is a love and appreciation for nature that permeates through all aspects at Finca Castellon.
The usual specialty coffee practices are applied for picking the cherry, with an emphasis on only picking the ripest cherries. Javier tries to hire the same pickers, and pays them more each year for continuity. The number of workers on the farm goes from 1-2 to 8-9 during peak season. With over 9,000 trees on the farm that is a lot of ground to cover.
Once the ripe cherries are picked the coffee is then transferred to another farm where Cofinet (The Exporter) does all of its processing.
