de Specialitate Corretto, Columbia Cauca Popayan, Washed, 100% Arabica, 84 puncte SCA

Colombia Cauca Popayan Washed Specialty Coffee | Detailed Information and Description

🇨🇴 Origin: South America, Colombia, Cauca Department, Popayan subregion

🌱 Varieties: Castillo, Caturra

⛰️ Altitude: 1800 m – 1950 m

💧 Processing: Washed

🔥 Roast profile: Omniroast

☕ Tasting notes: Caramel, Milk Chocolate, Floral, Apples, Peaches

🍒 Acidity: Medium | Intensity: Medium

🫘 Body: Medium to full

📏 Bean size: Screen 16

🏆 SCA score: 84 points

⚙️ Recommended for: Espresso and brew methods (V60, Chemex, drip)

⏳ Optimal degassing: 7–14 days from the roast date

📦 Colombian specialty coffee available in 200 g, 400 g, 500 g, and 1 kg bags

Cauca Coffee from Colombia: The World's Third-Largest Origin, with Unmatched Diversity

Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee producer, after Brazil and Vietnam. But unlike Brazil (which produces large volumes on flat terrain) or Vietnam (where Robusta dominates), Colombia produces almost exclusively Arabica, on small farms at high altitudes, in geographical conditions that vary dramatically from one region to another.

The three branches of the Andes that cross Colombia from south to north create dozens of different microclimates. Between rainfall, altitude, soil, slope orientation, and cultivated varieties, two farmers located 50 km apart can produce coffees with completely different profiles. That's why “coffee from Colombia” doesn't mean a single taste—it means a broad spectrum, from chocolatey, sweet lots to fruity, acidic ones.

Colombia produces fresh crops almost all year round because its coffee-growing regions lie at different latitudes and altitudes, with staggered harvest seasons. This makes it an origin that specialty roasters can keep in their lineup year-round, without seasonal breaks.

The Cauca Department and the Meseta de Popayan

Cauca is one of the important coffee-growing departments in southern Colombia, alongside Huila and Nariño. This lot comes from the Meseta de Popayan area—a plateau at 1800 m – 1950 m altitude, sheltered by the Andes, with fertile volcanic soil and a stable climate that favors the slow ripening of coffee cherries.

Popayan is the capital of Cauca Department and a geographic landmark in the world of Colombian coffee. The area around the city benefits from well-distributed rainfall, moderate temperatures (between 15°C and 24°C), and mineral-rich volcanic soil. The combination produces balanced coffees: good sweetness, medium acidity, and floral notes that appear consistently from year to year.

Castillo and Caturra Varieties: Two Colombian Approaches

This lot combines two varieties with different stories.

Caturra is a dwarf mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil and widely adopted in Colombia. It is productive and compact, with well-defined citric acidity. You’ll find it in almost all Colombian coffee-growing regions.

Castillo is a variety developed by Cenicafé—the Colombian coffee research institute—specifically to resist Coffee Leaf Rust, a disease that affects Arabica plantations around the world. Castillo was developed by crossing traditional varieties with rust-resistant lines. The result is a productive, resistant plant with a cup profile that has improved considerably in recent years. If 10–15 years ago Castillo had a mediocre reputation at cupping, today Castillo lots are winning specialty competitions in Colombia.

The beans are screen size 16, meaning they are uniformly and consistently sorted, making them suitable for even roasting.

Washed Processing: The Classic Colombian Profile

The Cauca Popayan lot is processed using the washed method—the dominant method in Colombia and the one that defines the “Colombian taste” recognized by specialty roasters. After harvest, the pulp is mechanically removed, the beans are fermented under controlled conditions, washed with fresh water, and dried to 11–12% moisture.

Washed processing highlights the terroir and variety, without the extra sweetness added by Natural or Honey processing. The result is a clean cup, where each tasting note is distinct and identifiable.

Tasting Profile: Caramel, Milk Chocolate, Floral, Apples, and Peaches

This lot has five tasting notes—one of the most complex profiles in Corretto’s lineup. But complexity doesn’t mean complication: the notes naturally come together to create a balanced, easy-to-enjoy cup.

Caramel is the foundation—a warm, rounded sweetness that comes through from the first sip. Milk chocolate follows: not intense dark chocolate (like Brazil Cerrado), but milk chocolate—milder, sweeter, and more approachable. Together, these two notes give the cup a solid foundation for the others to build on.

The floral character is more subtle—it’s not the intense florality of an Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, but a delicate layer that comes through especially in brew and gives the cup an aroma you notice in your nose before you taste it. Apples and peaches complete the profile with fresh, fruity acidity that adds liveliness without dominating.

The body is medium to full—it has substance without the heaviness of a Maragogype or a Natural lot. The acidity is medium and balanced, with no extremes in either direction. It’s the kind of coffee you can drink every day without tiring of it, but with careful tasting, it reveals layers you might not notice in the first cup.

With 84 SCA points, the lot confirms a solid specialty profile—balanced, clean, and consistent.

How to Brew Colombia Cauca Popayan at Home

The Omni Roast profile means this lot was roasted to work well both as espresso and as brew. The balance of body, acidity, and sweetness gives it a versatility not found in every coffee in the lineup.

Espresso Recipe

Dose: 18 g coffee (fine grind)

Yield: 36–40 g in the cup

Extraction time: 25–30 seconds

The shot is rounded, with stable crema and caramel up front. Milk chocolate comes through in the aftertaste, while the medium-to-full body gives it a substantial feel in every sip. In a cappuccino, the caramel and milk chocolate notes blend naturally with the milk—it’s one of the coffees in the Corretto lineup that works best with milk.

☕ Corretto Tip: To bring out the fruity notes (apples, peaches), increase the yield to 42–44 g (1:2.3 ratio). The longer extraction opens up the fruity character without losing the caramel foundation.

Brew Recipe (V60 / Chemex / Drip)

Dose: 15 g coffee for 250 ml water

Grind: medium (like coarse salt)

Water temperature: 92–95°C

Total time: 3:00–3:30 minutes

With drip, the profile opens up fully. The floral character becomes clearer, the apples and peaches move to the forefront, and the caramel becomes a warm background note. This is when you can taste all five notes individually—something that doesn’t happen in quite the same way with espresso. If you want to understand why Cauca is one of Colombia’s benchmark regions, brew this lot with a V60.

☕ Corretto Tip: Let the beans degas for at least 7–10 days from the roast date (printed on the bag) before grinding them. With a coffee that has a complex profile (five notes), proper degassing makes the difference between “good” and “very good.”

Choose the Right Grind

Colombia Cauca Popayan coffee is available from us at the coffee shop as whole beans or ground to order, depending on your preference. If you’re not sure which grind size is right for you, we’ve prepared a complete guide to the four grind types—Espresso, Drip, Ibrik, and French Press—with parameters, ratios, and practical tips for each. You’ll find it in the “Grind Types” tab on this page.