REGION: Risaralda, Colombia

PRODUCER: Julio Madrid

PROCESS: Nitro Washed

VARIETY: Caturra

ELEVATION: 1400 MASL

TASTING NOTES: Watermelon bubble gum, strawberry yogurt candies, mango creamsicle, pink lemonade

This CROWNS release comes to us from Finca Milán, the farm of third-generation producer Julio Madrid, located in the village of Betulia in the Arabia township of Pereira, in Colombia’s Risaralda region. Julio has been producing coffee at Milán since 1982, growing a wide range of varieties that includes Pink Bourbon, Caturra, Colombia, Castillo Naranjal, and Catiope. Milán is also where he develops his signature processing methods, including Culturing and Nitro Fermentation, alongside more traditional Washed and Natural approaches. The farm protects three natural water springs and features biological corridors planted with native guadua bamboo.

The Nitro Washed process behind this coffee is an advanced adaptation of anaerobic fermentation, and it is remarkably involved. It begins with what Julio calls Embryonic Stress Activation: freshly picked cherries are sealed in bags for 10 to 12 hours, which initiates a metabolic response in the seed and raises its temperature and internal activity. The cherries are then cooled in water at 8 to 10°C to stabilize that activation before they are depulped, leaving the mucilage-covered parchment intact.

From there, the parchment rests in a sealed barrel for 10 to 12 hours of controlled oxidation before moving into a sealed bioreactor, where starter cultures, must, and nitrogen are introduced. This anaerobic fermentation runs for 4 to 6 days and is carefully monitored for temperature, pH, and Brix to hit the target cup profile. The coffee is then sun-dried for 15 to 20 days in thin layers to promote even drying, and finally rested in bags for 30 days to stabilize before it travels.

We are having a lot of fun with this one. It is bright, clean, and wildly fruit-forward, with notes of watermelon bubble gum, strawberry yogurt candies, mango creamsicle, and pink lemonade. While it will shine in any brewer, we think a pour-over best shows off its clarity and candy-like sweetness. Try letting your cup cool for a few minutes as you drink. The fruit notes only get more expressive as the temperature drops!