COLOMBIA HONEY + BLACKBERRY CASTILLO

The Dark and Brooding One

If the Lychee is the showstopper, this is the slow-burn favourite — deep, rich, and wine-like, for the drinker who likes a coffee with a bit of mystery. This Honey Blackberry Castillo from Jairo Arcila's Santa Mónica farm is the most complex and layered cup in the series: jammy dark fruit, a whisper of spice, and a long, indulgent finish.

It's also the coffee that proves a point. Castillo is Colombia's humble workhorse variety — and in the hands of a master, fermented with fresh blackberries and wine yeast, it reaches 88.5 points. Roasted fresh at our Upper Hutt roastery and rested 30 days using protocols refined through our own championship experience.

Origin: Armenia, Quindío, Colombia Producer: Jairo Arcila Farm: Santa Mónica Altitude: 1,450–1,500 masl Variety: Castillo Process: Honey — 72-hour anaerobic co-fermentation with fresh blackberry + wine yeast Grade: 88.5 points (SCA) Roast Level: Light–Medium

Tasting Notes

Caramelised Blackberry, Cardamom, Tangerine, Toffee

Think blackberry preserves and a glass of spiced red wine. Rich, jammy dark fruit forms the base, lifted by a subtle, aromatic cardamom note (entirely natural — no spices added) and a bright pop of tangerine that keeps the whole thing from feeling heavy. A velvety toffee sweetness carries the long, satisfying finish. This is a serious, indulgent cup that rewards slow drinking — and translates beautifully through milk.

In Praise of Castillo: The Underdog Variety

Here's something we love about this coffee. Castillo isn't a rare or exotic variety — it's the opposite. Developed by Colombia's national coffee research centre and released in 2005, it now accounts for nearly half of all coffee grown in the country.

So why does it matter? Castillo was bred to resist coffee leaf rust, the devastating disease that has wiped out crops across Latin America. Its hardiness lets smallholder farmers grow quality coffee with fewer chemical inputs and far less risk — which is genuinely good for farmers and the land. It's often dismissed as a "commodity" variety, the reliable everyday choice.

This coffee is the rebuttal. Take a well-grown Castillo, hand-pick only the ripest cherries, and co-ferment it for 72 hours with fresh blackberries and wine yeast, and you get a cup scoring 88.5 — sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with far more glamorous varieties. It's proof that great coffee is made as much in skilled, thoughtful processing as it is in rare genetics. We think that's a story worth telling.

Why This Coffee?

At Frank's, our values of Excellence and Growth come through clearly here.

Excellence: 88.5 points from a variety many overlook — a testament to masterful processing over hype.

Growth & sustainability: Castillo's disease resistance helps Colombian smallholders farm more sustainably and resiliently. Buying coffee like this supports the kind of farming that has a future.

Producer Excellence: Jairo Arcila has spent a lifetime learning how to coax the best from every variety. This coffee is a showcase of that craft.

Innovation: Co-fermentation with dark fruit and wine yeast turns a familiar variety into something genuinely surprising.

Brewing Recommendations

The dark-fruit richness makes this a stellar espresso — and it holds up wonderfully in milk.

For Espresso:

• Dose: 18–19g
• Yield: 36–40g
• Time: 28–32 seconds
• Temperature: 93–94°C
• The blackberry and toffee cut through milk beautifully while keeping their complexity.

For Filter (V60):

• Coffee: 15g
• Water: 250g (1:16.5 ratio)
• Temperature: 93–94°C
• Grind: Medium
• Brew time: 2:45–3:15

Peak Freshness: 14–21 days post-roast, as the fermentation notes settle and integrate.

These are our recommended starting points — adjust to your taste. Great coffee is coffee you enjoy.

Meet Jairo Arcila

A third-generation producer with 40+ years in coffee, Jairo spent four decades as Mill Manager at Racafé before turning full-time to specialty production on his own farms. His sons Carlos and Felipe founded the export company Cofinet in 2015, and together the family runs the La Pradera processing facility near Armenia — the hub where every fermentation and processing decision is made. Cofinet's direct-trade model pays significant premiums above local market prices and runs a free training programme for neighbouring farmers, helping lift quality across the region.

At La Pradera, processing water is recycled and filtered through a vetiver-grass system before release, ensuring no contaminated water is discharged.

Questions about this coffee? Get in touch — we love talking coffee.