Rocket Flower is back.
After bringing this coffee to Australia for the first time last year, we knew it was one we wanted to return to. This is our second year working with Huver Castillo and his family’s El Paseo farm, and once again, this lot delivers the distinctive floral character that made it such a standout.
Huver is a third-generation coffee grower, although his own close relationship with coffee began relatively recently. Until 2015, he worked as a mathematics teacher at a school in Nariño before turning his attention to coffee production and working alongside his father on the family farm.
El Paseo is located near Buesaco, along the Suma Paz trail in Nariño. The farm has been in Huver’s family for more than 20 years and is one of three farms they own. Sitting between 1,750 and 1,950 metres above sea level, El Paseo is surrounded by native shade trees and positioned on the slopes overlooking the Buesaco Valley.
The Process
Rocket Flower begins with carefully selected ripe Caturra cherries. After picking, the cherries undergo a 36-hour pre-fermentation before being floated and disinfected using a sea salt solution.
The coffee then moves into stainless steel tanks fitted with regulated relief valves for anaerobic fermentation. After this initial stage, the cherries are transferred to a second hopper and pulped. Leachates from the coffee are collected, with approximately 200 litres added back into each fermentation tank alongside selected enzymes designed to encourage the intensely floral profile this coffee is known for.
Each tank can hold up to 2,800 kilograms of coffee, with fermentation continuing for six days.
Following fermentation, the coffee is mechanically dried in a silo for two to three days at temperatures below 38°C until the desired moisture level is reached. The coffee is then left to stabilise for 15 days before being prepared for export.
The result is a highly aromatic coffee with layers of coffee blossom, lemongrass and citrus, alongside orange, cocoa and a lingering sweetness.
It was memorable enough for us to bring it back for a second year, and we’re very glad to have Rocket Flower in the range again.
