Jairo Arcila Santa Monica Washed Castillo (Wine Yeast / Strawberry)
This is not a traditional Colombian Castillo profile. Expect something much more fruit-forward
This is not a traditional Colombian Castillo profile. Expect something much more fruit-forward, this microlot comes from Finca Santa Monica in Quindío, Colombia, produced by Jairo Arcila, a third-generation coffee producer. The lot is 100% Castillo, grown around 1,450–1,500 meters.
What makes it really interesting is the fermentation. The coffee cherries undergo roughly 72 hours of dry anaerobic fermentation with strawberries and wine yeast. After fermentation, the cherries are pulped and dried on raised beds, with strawberries also used during the drying stage in some versions of the lot.
Very limited. Very special. Don’t wait too long!
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: September 2026. Packed and vacumed sealed in GrainPro
Flavors:Strawberry cream / vanilla, Winey, Floral, Cacao, Candy Like Sweetness
Grade:
Processing: 72 hrs Dry anaerobic fermentation with Strawberries and Wine Yeast
Grower: Jairo Arcila
Region: Santa Monica, Colombia.
Varieties: Castillo
Recommended Roast Range: (Light, light -medium)
We like this coffee best at City + (Light-medium) or as first crack has begun to trail off. We find this “lighter side of medium” roast level really showcases the florals and citrus in the cup. If you prefer a more balanced cup, feel free to take this coffee to a full medium, or just after first crack has trailed off. Pushing the roast into the first few snaps of second crack will yield a more chocolate focused cup at the expense of the more subtle floral notes, but the cup will pick up a bit more body and creamy texture.
Jairo Arcila is a third-generation coffee grower from Quindío, Colombia, widely recognized for his innovative approach to coffee processing and his dedication to producing distinctive, fruit-forward specialty coffees.
Jairo began his career in the coffee industry as a Mill Manager at Racafé, one of Colombia’s major coffee exporters. He spent more than 40 years in the company before retiring in 2019, gaining extensive experience in coffee processing, quality, and exportation.
In 1987, Jairo purchased his first farm, Finca La Esmeralda. Over the years, he expanded his family’s coffee production to include six farms in the Armenia region: Santa Mónica, Villarazo, Mazatlán, Maracay, Buenos Aires, and La Esmeralda.
Together with his wife, Luz Helena Salazar, and their sons Carlos and Felipe, co-founders of Cofinet, Jairo has built a remarkable family legacy in specialty coffee. Their work combines generations of traditional coffee-growing knowledge with experimentation and innovation in fermentation and processing.
Jairo and his family are particularly known for exploring alternative fermentation techniques, creating coffees with exceptionally expressive and often tropical, candy-like, and fruit-forward profiles. Their approach has helped demonstrate how careful processing can bring out completely different characteristics from the same coffee varieties.
For coffee lovers, a Jairo Arcila coffee is more than just a cup it is an opportunity to experience the intersection of Colombian tradition, family heritage, experimentation, and modern specialty coffee innovation.
