EXP023: PASSIONFRUIT

WHY THIS COFFEE?

This was a community favorite in 2025 and we're back for more. Jairo Arcila, a Colombian coffee producer, processed this coffee with passionfruit and wine yeast to bring out extraordinary fruit flavors. The coffee is a Castillo variety (see here for more information) grown at the Santa Monica farm in Quindio, Colombia.

This coffee from Jairo Arcila was our favorite from sampling dozens of coffees early in 2025. We absolutely love this coffee and think you will too. It has that perfect blend of what advanced processing can offer to a coffee by elevating the natural characteristics of the bean without imparting too much funkiness. 

PROCESSING INFO

This coffee is harvested using strict ripeness criteria, ensuring only perfectly ripe cherries are selected. The cherries are then sealed in GrainPro bags and transported to the La Pradera processing center.

Upon arrival, they undergo meticulous quality control, including hand-sorting and flotation to remove low-density, underripe, and defective cherries.

The selected cherries are then dry-fermented anaerobically for 48 hours. During this stage, passion fruit pulp and wine yeast are added to the fermentation tanks.

This co-fermentation enhances the coffee’s natural character, introducing vibrant tropical fruit notes while adding depth and complexity. The anaerobic environment slows the fermentation process, allowing for greater control and a more distinctive flavor profile.

Passion fruit contributes an intense, tropical profile—sweet-tart citrus alongside notes of pineapple, mango, and berry—resulting in a cup that is bright, layered, and fruit-forward.

Wine yeast plays a distinct role in fermentation, enhancing complexity and introducing unique characteristics. It efficiently converts sugars into alcohol and other compounds, helping break down the mucilage and release organic acids that contribute to the coffee’s flavor profile.

After fermentation, the cherries are pulped and thoroughly washed to remove any remaining mucilage. Wastewater from this process is treated through a green filtration system, where it passes through a series of specialized tanks before being irrigated into vetiver grass beds. This natural filtration process purifies the water before it is safely reintroduced, ensuring that no contaminated runoff leaves the processing center.

Once washed, the coffees are dried on raised beds for smaller, more delicate lots, or in Elba drying stations for larger volumes. Throughout this stage, the team carefully monitors the coffee to ensure even drying and preserve quality. The target moisture content is 9.5%–11%, an optimal range for stability and flavor development.

COFFEE DETAILS

Producer: Jairo Arcila

Location: Quindío, Colombia from the Santa Monica farm

Varietal: Castillo

Processing: Washed passionfruit wine yeast fermentation

Green cost: $13.14/lb

Percentage paid to producers: 90%

BREW GUIDE

How long to rest: This one is borderline light/ultralight at 98 Agtron. You should wait three weeks for it to degas and begin its peak.

We taste: Sweet passionfruit, almost like lychee, without the overwhelming presence of co-fermented funkiness because of the washed processing; a raspberry tartness and acidity.