C56: 

Farm/Producer: El Progreso

Region: Colombia, Pitalito, Huila

Process: Washed

Altitude: 1700 masl

Variety: Bourbon, Caturra

Cup Profile: Orange, Brown Sugar, Rolo Chocolate

We're proud to bring back a coffee that left a lasting impression the first time around, the Caturra Bourbon Washed lot from Finca El Progreso. This is our second time showcasing this coffee, and it's every bit as tasty as we remembered. Finca El Progreso is a 23-hectare, family-run farm with deep roots in coffee cultivation. Rodrigo and Claudia have built their name on precision processing and constant curiosity, cultivating premium varieties like Gesha, Pink Bourbon, Pacamara, Purple and Red Caturra, and always pushing quality forward.

This particular lot, a washed Caturra Bourbon blend, is part of a seed lineage discovered in Palestina in 2009. It grows at 1,730 masl in a climate that ranges from 16–22°C — ideal conditions for slow cherry maturation and bright, complex coffees.

The processing is meticulous. Cherries are selectively harvested at peak ripeness, measured between 24° and 28° Brix with a pH of 5.6–5.9. After pulping, the coffee undergoes a 34-hour fermentation in tanks, followed by careful washing and slow drying over 18–22 days on parabolic beds. The farm’s infrastructure also includes a cold fermentation room held at 10–14°C — a rare feature in Colombia that gives Rodrigo even more control over flavour development. 

On filter, this coffee opens with bright, zesty notes of orange layered over soft brown sugar sweetness. It’s a clean and well-structured cup, the kind of cup you come back to every morning. On espresso, we picked up more tropical and juicy notes such as mango and pineapple. In milk, it softens into something rich and nostalgic think of the Rolo chocolate with that caramel centre