Hydro - 324 comes from Gonzalo Mancilla at San Fernando Coffee Farm in Mesa de los Santos, Santander, Colombia. This Castillo lot is named after its 324-hour HydroNatural process, a controlled fermentation method built around the coffee cherry's own natural juices.

This is not a co-ferment, and nothing is added. No fruit, no yeast, no flavoring. The coffee goes through three separate 108-hour fermentations, beginning with oxidation, where the cherries release their own juices. Those collected cherry juices are then recirculated with the coffee during fermentation in a bioreactor. The coffee is dried in cherry, and before reaching full dryness, it returns to the bioreactor for one final fermentation using those same juices before the final drying stage.

Hydro - 324 challenges what an experimental natural can be. Instead of leaning heavy, boozy, or overly winey, this coffee is smoother and more defined. In the cup, expect strawberry compote, raspberry jam, dried plum, dark honey, and a cocoa finish. Roasted light-plus-ish, it works beautifully as pour-over, but it also has the sweetness and structure for espresso, flat whites, cappuccinos, cold brew, and flash brew.

Pair with dark chocolate, berry pastries, vanilla cake, or a simple butter cookie. For milk-based drinks, this coffee works especially well in flat whites and cappuccinos where the red berry sweetness and cocoa finish can stay clear through the milk.

• Variety: Castillo
• Process: HydroNatural, 324-hour fermentation
• Farm: San Fernando Coffee Farm
• Altitude: 1600 masl
• Region: Mesa de los Santos, Santander, Colombia
• Coffee Producer: Gonzalo Mancilla
• Recommended For: Pour-over, espresso, flat whites, cappuccinos, milk-based espresso drinks