Hi, it's Takuya, a head roaster at Kurasu. For about two weeks from the end of March to the early April, I visited Colombia. This is Kurasu's second origin trip since the trip to Ethiopia in 2023, and as for myself, this was my first ever origin trip.

Our trusted importer that we source our Central and South American beans, SYU・HA・RI san, coordinated to make this wonderful trip possible.

The main two objectives of this visit were: to attend "COLOMBIA WASHED COFFEE FESTIVAL 2025", a quality evaluation cupping for washed coffee (also to purchase some beans there), and to visit coffee farms. On this first half of my travel log, I'd like to share a bit about my experience at the festival as a coffee roaster.

COLOMBIA WASHED COFFEE FESTIVAL (CWCF) are hosted by Fairfield Trading, a Colombian exporter, and SYU・HA・RI- and the event is solely focused on washed coffee. Each farms submit their sample product, and among them 46 lots will be chosen, cupped, and scored. Top scoring lot will receive a premium in addition to their regular purchase price. 

Fairfield Trading only purchases washed beans processed with a classic method and have surpassed certain quality standards. Alejandro Renjifo, president of Fairfield Trading, believes that it is currently difficult to continue to guarantee quality with natural process or honey process due to the nature of coffee production in Colombia. The climate is characterized by a mix of wet and dry seasons, and in some areas it rains all year round.In addition, there are many small-scale farmers, and most of them are involved in everything from harvesting to drying. Because of these factors, most of the natural process and honey process coffees are over-fermented by the time they are dried enough. 

Fairfield Trading also sets strict quality standards for their purchases to enhance its credibility as an exporter in the supply chain that leads to the importers and roasters. They also offer feedback to those who did not meet their standards, and advocate for the importance of quality. By doing so, Fairfield Trading creates the momentum in the whole community to strive for higher quality. 

The CWCF was held for the first time last year with Alejandro's idea of putting the spotlight back on classic washed coffee, and is being held for the second time this year.

At this year's CWCF, the coffees were judged by blind cupping over a period of three full days. The top 20 lots were then scored again by blind cupping to determine the final ranking. There were 15 judges, 5 from Colombia and 10 from Japan including myself.

Amongst many Geisha varieties lined up, the first place went to a rather unexpected Colombia-Caturra (a blend of Colombia and Caturra varieties)! It received high marks by many, including myself, and its juicy fruitiness reminiscent of Kenyan coffee left a great impression.

Notably, many Pink Bourbon and Castillo varieties also ranked high, which confirmed my theory that planting premium variety alone won't make good coffee, but the importance is more in how the variety and process are chosen to suit the terroir. The cupping score greatly affects the producer's future investment and decision-making process (such as which variety to plant, etc.), and I felt that these classic varieties performing well was a positive outcome for the producers.

What left the strongest impression on me was Carlos Soto san's Colombia variety which ranked 5th. On my note I scribbled "White peach, Transparent, Pear, Orange", etc., but the cup was just so clean, had a refreshingly juicy acidity and floral aroma, and it was simply mind-blowing. Aside from Geisha variety, I scored this lot the highest. It was beautiful. 

At CWCF, I decided to purchase Carlos Soto, Astrid Medina, Lisandro Quilcue, Alejandro Renjifo, and Northern Colombia Regional lot. They are scheduled to arrive in Japan around July- stay tuned!

(Continued to the Part 2: Visiting Farms)