Colombia Castillo M-03 Milky Cake | Specialty Green Coffee

Flavor Profile — Cinnamon, Coconut Milk, Lime

In the cup: cinnamon, lime, coconut milk. Long finish with soft, milky acidity. Floral, aromatic aroma with a hint of spice. Creamy body.

Behind this profile is a specific microorganism — Kluveromyces lactis, a yeast used in cheese production and fermented dairy products, which in coffee produces volatile aromatic compounds responsible for fruity notes and reduced bitterness. It is this strain, used in a controlled dairy environment, that gives M-03 its characteristic, creamy-milky finish.

The process begins with the harvesting of ripe coffee cherries, which are disinfected with ozone, and then transferred to airtight tanks for 72-hour anaerobic fermentation — immersed in water with a Lactobacillus culture in a milk medium. After hulling the beans, the coffee is mixed with must from the first tank, which increases the level of precursors. This is followed by thermal shock, drying, and bean selection.

Diego Bermúdez and Finca El Paraíso

Finca El Paraíso was not meant to be a coffee farm. Diego Samuel Bermúdez Tapia comes from Bolívar in Cauca — his family had no tradition of coffee cultivation. As an agribusiness management student, he convinced his parents to give him 2.5 hectares of unused land. He planted coffee, harvested cherries, and sold them to local cooperatives — that's how he paid for his studies. That was in 2008.

In 2015, Finca El Paraíso won first place in a regional coffee competition — and appeared on the global specialty coffee radar. Three years later, in 2018, coffee from El Paraíso at the Cup of Excellence Colombia auction achieved the highest price among all lots — $54.10 per pound — even though it ranked 10th in scoring. The industry understood that something exceptional was happening.

Together with his brother Alexander Bermúdez and cousin Cristian Zúñiga, Diego founded INDESTEC — a research company focused on optimizing coffee processes. This is where biocatalysis, controlled fermentation with temperature, pH, and sugar level measurement, thermal shock, and their own ecological dryers operating on the principle of condensation come from.

The farm is located in the municipality of Piendamó, in the department of Cauca, at an altitude of 1780 m above sea level, on loamy-silty soil rich in organic matter. Cultivation is carried out in a semi-shade system, using biological and organic methods. On 1.7 hectares, 7000 coffee trees grow.

Today, Diego is working on several parallel projects: Hachi — a collaboration with Allan Hartmann from Panama, focused on cultivation and fermentation experiments; Native — a series of exclusive microlots from, among others, El Paraíso and Hachi, and Paradise Horse — a separate coffee brand he is developing.

Two years ago, Diego passed the torch to the next generation — the farm is now managed by Daniel Bermúdez, along with Alex. Their work is behind your coffee.

Coffee Technical Data