Caquetá

It is rare to see specialty coffee from Caquetá, despite it being the third largest department in Colombia and it being so close to Huila. Here, the foothills of the Andes meet the dense jungles of the Amazon. Caquetá has a long history of environment stewardship, indigenous resistance, and the presence of illicit crops. To this day, Caquetá is largely inaccessible to foreign buyers due to security concerns.

Colombia & Castillo

Caturra's susceptibility to rust led to efforts by the Colombian coffee research institute, Cenicafé, to cross Caturra with Timor Hybrids to generate rust resistance. The result was Variedad Colombia, which was largely successful for a time, and remains popular despite leaf-rust mutations overtaking its resistance.

Cenicafé continued the breeding process of Caturra and Timor Hybrid varieties to produce even better resistance to leaf rust. Ultimately this resulted in Castillo, which also benefits from high yields and good cup quality, making it the predominant variety grown in Colombia today. The name Castillo actually refers to a number of different forms of the variety, each tailored to a different regional climate in Colombia. This diversity has helped facilitate continued rust resistance..

Washed