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The Coffee Atlas
Colombia Caldas
Colombia Caldas, the Coffee Axis department around Manizales: washed Caturra and Castillo lots with tangerine, rose and cocoa, main crop from September.
Flavor profile
avg. of 2 published reviewsScale: 1-10, Coffee Review / SCA-classic-form convention. Averaged from 2 independently published, dated Coffee Review scores of named lots labeled Caldas: Colombia Caldas Laderas del Tapias (roasted by Victrola Coffee Roasters, June 2015, 93 points) and Crystalina (Red Bourbon, natural process, roasted by Steady State Roasting Company, June 2019, 94 points). I chose them because they are the Caldas reviews I could confirm publish all five cupping attributes. Other Caldas reviews were excluded: a washed Caturra and Bourbon espresso review (CofFeeling, 2021) and an anaerobic natural espresso review (Regent Coffee, 2024) score aroma, flavor, body and aftertaste but no acidity, and a Geisha natural (1980 CAFE, 2024) is a niche variety. Coffee Review publishes whole numbers and the half-point here comes from averaging. N=2 is a small sample, one lot is natural processed, and individual-lot variance is large, so this describes high-scoring Caldas lots, not a typical everyday Caldas cup.
What it tastes like
Caldas is the Coffee Axis department around Manizales, and its best-reviewed cups lean bright and floral rather than heavy. Coffee Review’s Laderas del Tapias from Victrola scored 93, with tangerine, rose-like flowers, cedar and roasted cacao nib, lively acidity and a light but silky mouthfeel.
The second averaged lot shows the other direction. Crystalina, a natural-process Red Bourbon from Steady State Roasting, scored 94 with dried strawberry, toffee, lilac and maple syrup. It is not a typical Caldas cup, which is why the flavor scores above carry a low-confidence label.
The everyday Caldas coffee is more modest: washed Caturra, Castillo and Colombia sold as an Excelso blend from small farms at around 1,700 m. A reviewed washed Caturra and Bourbon lot, Finca Villa Clara, tasted of dark chocolate and date. The main crop runs from September to mid-January.
How to brew it
Method fit for this origin · editorial guidance from roaster convention
Filter brewing keeps the lively acidity and the floral and citrus notes of washed Caldas lots clear.
The chocolaty, sweet character of conventional washed lots suits espresso and milk drinks, though the brighter fruit-forward lots can taste sharp under pressure.
Full immersion emphasizes body and sweetness at some cost to the finer aromatic detail.
⚠ Fit tiers are editorial guidance drawn from roaster convention; no industry standard scores brew fit, so we show tiers, never invented numbers. Reflects brew guidance commonly published by specialty roasters for washed Colombian coffees, not an SCA-defined standard.
Altitude & region
Growing elevation, meters above sea level · this entry vs comparison bands
Caldas's band above is drawn from retailer lot listings, not an official regional statistic, so treat it as indicative of specialty-lot elevations only. Colombia Quindio and Colombia Huila use this Atlas's own sourced entries for those origins; Ethiopia Yirgacheffe is shown for scale using the commonly published band already used elsewhere in this Atlas, not a lot-specific measurement.
Caffeine content
Caffeine by dry weight · each gold dot = 0.1%
Caffeine content tracks species far more than origin, altitude, or processing: Arabica runs around 1.2% and Robusta around 2.2%. This entry is 100% Arabica; no credible per-origin caffeine figure exists at a category level, so nothing here is a measurement of this specific lot.
Where to buy it
Transparency: some links on this site are affiliate links; if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Roasters are picked for genuine, current sourcing of this coffee, never for who pays us.
Roastery focused on Colombian single origins; lists a washed Caldas Excelso from Colombia, Castillo and Cenicafe 1 varieties at 1,700 m (listing hosted on The Way To Coffee).
View lot→Lists Finca La Ilusion, a natural Caturra from Caldas at 1,750 m (listing hosted on The Way To Coffee); a fruitier take than the washed baseline.
View lot→Lists San Lorenzo, a washed community lot from Caldas (listing hosted on The Way To Coffee). UK-based, so shipping depends on your location.
View lot→Selection is wide and varies by seller; check roast dates, 100%-origin labeling, and seller reviews before buying.
View lot→Sources & data
- Coffee Review: Colombia Caldas Laderas del Tapias, Victrola Coffee RoastersCupping scores (1 of 2 averaged); Caldas Department, blind assessment (tangerine, rose-like flowers, fresh-cut cedar, roasted cacao nib)
- Coffee Review: Crystalina, Steady State Roasting CompanyCupping scores (2 of 2 averaged); Caldas region, Red Bourbon, natural process, blind assessment (dried strawberry, toffee, lilac, maple syrup)
- Coffee Review: Colombia Caldas Finca Villa Clara SupremoNot averaged (espresso review, no acidity score); shows a washed Caturra and Bourbon Caldas lot tasting of dark chocolate and date
- Coffee Review: scoring methodologyStates each of the five categories is rated 1 (low) to 10 (high), reflecting both quantity and quality
- Mercanta Coffee Hunter: Coffee SeasonalityCaldas is listed among the Colombian regions with a primary harvest from September to mid-January
- Cenicafe: Physical and sensory quality of coffee grown in the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia in CaldasSurvey finding that 52% of farms were above 1,600 m, with fermentation used in 90% and sun drying in 93%
- Royal Coffee: Colombia Caldas Finca El Renacer CaturraLot altitude of 1,460-1,800 m, Caturra, fully washed and sun dried, near Manizales (taken from a search-result description; page fetch was rate limited)
- The Way To Coffee: Caldas (La Mulita Coffee)Altitude of 1,700 m; Colombia, Castillo and Cenicafe 1 varieties; washed
- The Way To Coffee: Colombia Caldas Finca La Ilusion (The Crackpots)Altitude of 1,750 m, Caturra, natural process