Beverage
Castillo
C tier
Castillo is Colombia’s flagship rust-resistant Coffea arabica cultivar developed by Cenicafé as an improved successor to the Colombia variety. It combines strong coffee leaf rust resistance with higher productivity and a cup profile many buyers prefer over earlier Catimor-type material, though it is still primarily a commercial production variety rather than a boutique heirloom. Since the 2000s Castillo has dominated large areas of Colombian coffee land, especially where rust forced replanting of Caturra and Typica. Regional Castillo lines and careful farm practices can produce clean, sweet cups that support both commodity and mid-specialty markets.
Also known as: Castillo, Castillo regional lines
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Cenicafé advanced Timor Hybrid–based breeding to protect Colombian arabica from coffee leaf rust.
The composite Colombia variety was released, paving the way for further selection that produced Castillo.
Cenicafé officially released Castillo after multi-site trials for yield, rust resistance, and cup quality.
National rust epidemics accelerated farmer adoption of Castillo across major growing departments.
Castillo became the most widely planted variety in Colombia, largely replacing susceptible Caturra stands.
Regional Castillo selections and diversification programmes refined local performance and cup consistency.