Francy Castillo - Colombia Geisha
Process: Washed
In the cup we get a bright, sweet and delicate Geisha. When hot, we taste delicate white florals and herbals that remind us of Eucalyptus. When the cup cools we get sweet limeade, white grape, and honey. Our favourite part of this coffee... it's long sweet finish that is distinct and addictive. This coffee has a silky body.
Francy and her four sisters grew up helping their parents at the coffee farm, which inspired her to major in Agronomy to support and manage the family business. She completed her university degree through distance learning while working on her farm to pay for her studies. After graduating in 2019, she began working at the FNC as a Field Assistant around her hometown of Arboleda, Nariño. She also gained experience in sensory development by working at a private export lab in Buesaco. She said, "I became even more interested in coffee and day by day, I wanted to learn more about the beautiful world of coffee." At El Ubérrimo, farm tasks like planting, fertilization, and harvesting are done with the help of Francy's neighbours and family members. Production practices on the farm focus on using the least amount of chemicals to preserve the naturally occurring microbial life in the soil. This helps support the growth of healthy coffee plants. This is evident in the clean, sweet, and complex flavours in the final cup.
Before harvest, the cherries are left on the tree to ripen further until they develop a deep, wine-like colour, usually taking an additional three weeks. Once the majority of cherries have reached their ideal sweetness and colour, the ripe ones are picked and left in clean sacks to ferment for approximately 36 hours in a cool environment. Afterwards, the cherries are soaked in water, removing floaters before depulping. The coffees are then placed in clean tanks to ferment without water for 100 hours. Finally, they are washed and dried on patios for 15 to 20 days.