Aldemar Sotelo's Huila Castillo is a special example of a true small farm coffee (just 2 hectares), picked and processed by hand. We are thrilled to bring this coffee to our range and support independent farmers.
Origin: Colombia
Producer: Aldemar Sotelo
Farm: Finca La Esperanza
Region: Huila
Varietal: Castillo
Altitude: 1900 masl
Process: Fully Washed
Harvest Period: Oct - March
Farmers and Community:
Coffee farming in Huila is overwhelmingly small-scale. Indeed, approximately 80% of producers from the region grow coffee on less than 3 hectares of land. These small farms are tended by individual families with labour only rarely being contracted out, which leads to more thorough and intensive management practices and great pride in the final product – which is, itself, an extension of the family.
Aldemar’s farm is situated in the town of Palestina, an area known for its lush coffee farms and cultural history. The town is ideal for coffee drinkers and offers lovely festivals, charming architecture, and beautiful natural landscapes. A truly welcoming and warm place to visit in Colombia.
Processing:
During the harvest, Aldemar carefully handpicks the cherries on his farm and brings them to his mill. He lets the cherries ferment for 30 hours to begin the development of sugars in the coffee. After this first fermentation, the cherries are de-pulped to remove the external fruit and fermented once more for 24 hours to breakdown the remaining mucilage. Next, the coffee is washed and evenly dispersed on patios in the open sun to dry until the ideal moisture content is reached. Once dried, the coffee is delivered to the Pergamino dry mill in Medellín to be hulled and prepared for export.
As a rule of thumb, orders made after 8.30 am will be processed and dispatched the next working day. Once your order has been dispatched, you'll receive an email. If there are any delays—which is possible when dealing with certain artisan coffee varieties and equipment—we'll notify you as soon as possible and maintain communication.
UK delivery is via the Royal Mail Tracked service and is charged based on the total parcel weight (product and packaging). Please note that Royal Mail Tracked 48 does not guarantee delivery within 2 working days. We provide Royal Mail Tracked 48 shipping for any UK-based orders totalling £35 or more before shipping.
Please ensure you enter your address correctly; otherwise, we won't be able to dispatch your parcel. International delivery is made with Royal Mail Standard International service, which we'll explore below.
| Royal Mail First Class Tracked Service (24 hours after dispatch) | Royal Mail First Class Tracked Courier (48 hours after dispatch) | |
|---|---|---|
| 0g - 999g | £5.40 | £4.50 |
| 1kg - 2kg | £5.40 | £4.50 |
Royal Mail Tracked 24 main exclusion postcodes: GY, HS2, IM, JE, KW16-17, PA61-PA75, PA78, PH30, PH41-PH44, ZE2 and ZE3. Royal Mail Tracked 48 main exclusion postcodes: BT, GY, HS, IM, JE, KW, ZE2 and ZE3.
International orders are restricted to a maximum order of 1.5kg.
| Royal Mail Int. (Europe) | Royal Mail Int. (US & Canada) | |
|---|---|---|
| 0g - 500g | £7.00 | £9.50 |
| 501g - 999g | £9.50 | £16.00 |
| 1kg - 1.5kg | £14.00 | £23.00 |
Orders placed with DPD before 8:30 am will be sent via Next Day Delivery,; however, this doesn't include weekends. Any orders dispatched on Friday will be delivered on the following Monday.
Any orders weighing over 2.5 kg will be sent via DPD Courier. Your confirmation email will notify you if this is the case. Green coffee orders are restricted to a maximum of 10kg.
This option excludes Northern Ireland and the Scottish Highlands.
For those local to York, we have free local collection points throughout the city that we deliver to on Wednesday and Friday mornings. Orders placed from Friday to Tuesday will be delivered to the chosen collection point on Wednesday morning. You will be notified via email when your order is ready. Please visit our Collection Points page for more information.
York Emporium Roastery - Nether Poppleton
Available to collect from the York Emporium roastery any time between 8:30 am and 5:00pm during the week once you have received your shipping email.
York Cocoa Works - Castlegate, York
Available to collect from York Cocoa Works (during opening hours) on the Wednesday or Friday after you receive your shipping email.
Cafe Fleur - Micklegate, York
Available to collect from Cafe Fleur (during opening hours) on the Wednesday or Friday after you receive your shipping email.
The Greengrocer of Acomb - Acomb, York
Available to collect from the Greengrocers (during opening hours) on the Friday after you receive your shipping email. The store is not open on Wednesdays.
You will have one week to collect your order from your chosen location. Any unclaimed orders will be returned to the York Emporium roastery for collection once this period has elapsed
