Gonzalo Castillo

€13.00 – €46.80

Nicaragua – Natural Mix. Bright aromas like strawberry. Juicy sweetness like plum. Soft body like milk chocolate.

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Gonzalo Castillo

After running a tradition coffee farm for over four decades, Gonzalo decided to pursue a fully organic approach. He produces his own fertilizer and all coffee is shade-grown, protected with mosses.

Region: Ocotal, Nicaragua
Variety: H10, H3, H18 , Starmaya , Marseillaise
Processing: natural, dried on raised beds.

Additional information
Weight N/A
Region

Galeh, Jimma, Oromia, Ethiopia
Altitude

1,840 – 2,130 m.a.s.l.
Variety

Local varieties 74165, 75227, 74140, 74110, 74112 and 5227
Processing

Natural, dried on raised beds
Flavour

Full, sweet aromas like black tea and passion fruit. Deep sweetness like melon and strawberry jam. Smooth, creamy body like hazelnut ice cream

Jelle's Notes

Last year, I bought this coffee from Nicaragua for the first time. I liked the idea of having an easygoing, everyday coffee in the assortment that wasn’t too fruity. This year, I bought it again, partly because I thought, “Why not?” But then also because so many customers told me they were really looking forward to its return. I honestly hadn’t realized how popular it was, but it turns out it’s quite beloved.

The enthusiasm comes from customers who appreciate its approachable, Fontana-like character. It’s easygoing and accessible, with more body and less pronounced fruitiness. This coffee’s popularity really grew from the excitement of our customers, and I’m happy to see it becoming a regular favorite.

Pricing

Price Breakdown (/kg)

For us, sourcing coffee isn’t just about finding the right flavour, but more about finding the right people. We want to work with importers who are interested in building lasting relationships with the farmers and stay involved beyond the harvest. For this coffee, we’ve partnered with This Side Up. They represent producers directly, support long-term systems, and make sure pricing reflects the real work behind each lot. Their model is built on transparency, shared ownership, and a refusal to let commodity pricing define value. We pay more, but we know where it goes. That’s how we prefer to source our coffee.

Price paid by Roaster
€11.07
The price paid for Gonzalo Castillo’s coffee (p/kg). This price is agreed on directly with the farmers, disregarding the volatile US Coffee C price.

How is this built up?

Growing and Processing
€7.31
The farm gate price is what farmers receive for their coffee, including the costs they incur to deliver it to the mill. If farmers don’t own a mill or drying facility, TSU works with partners to provide those services so the coffee can be prepared for export. In Nicaragua, farmers are paid fixed prices for washed and natural coffees, with premiums for experimental methods.
Local
€1.17

Santa Lucila is a local dry milling and export facility in Nicaragua. It supports farmers with milling, packaging, and export services, adapting to their needs. For Gonzalo, all services are provided through Santa Lucila.

Shipping
€0.41
International shipping from Corinto,Nicaragua to Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is inclusive of freight, customs, insurance and warehousing costs.
Financing
€0.53
This average financing cost is owed to (mostly) social lenders who ensure farmers are paid immediately when the coffee leaves the farm or port.
Regenerative Premium
€0.06
A standard premium by This Side Up on all coffees that is exclusively dedicated to accelerating regenerative agriculture projects led by farmers.
Importer Fee
€1.65
Compensation to This Side Up for the resources spent on importing the coffee, including: year-round contact with producers, managing export, shipping, import, warehousing, grading, sampling, finding and keeping roasting partners for Gonzalo. This is part of TSU’s Model 1 Mark up. 
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