Gold Washed Coffee Explained: Lemongrass & Ginger Flavor Notes from Colombia Cauca

 In a gold washed coffee, I tasted unmistakable notes of lemongrass and ginger.

A few days ago, I shared a dedicated introduction to what gold washed processing is—a relatively new method that combines the strengths of both washed and natural processing. The first time I encountered a gold washed coffee was last November at the Shanghai Coffee Expo. At the booth of Direct Coffee from Kyoto, this particular coffee immediately caught my eye. That moment marked the beginning of a flavor experience that completely amazed me—one that has stayed with me ever since.

I placed an order for the beans on the spot. This coffee is a Gold Washed Red Bourbon from Popayán, Cauca, Colombia. The barista at the booth was also the roaster of this very coffee, and the way he presented its flavors was incredibly impressive. It was the first time I had ever tasted such distinctly clean and vivid lemongrass and ginger notes in a Colombian coffee built on an innovative twist of traditional processing methods. Ultra-clean, ultra-refreshing, and incredibly smooth. Today, I want to take some time to talk about this coffee in detail. If you ever come across beans from the same region, make sure you give them a try. From what I’ve researched, most of the production from this farm is exported to Japan and Australia.

Popayán is a city in southwestern Colombia, the capital and largest city of Cauca Department. The Cauca region itself is considered one of Colombia’s core coffee-growing areas. Before diving deeper into this coffee, it’s necessary to revisit the concept of gold washed processing and the Santuario Project that I mentioned previously. Santuario is a professional coffee producer and exporter with farms and processing facilities in Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Ethiopia, and El Salvador.

The founder of the Santuario Project, Camilo Merizalde, is also behind the Colombian farm where this coffee was produced. His journey into coffee is quite interesting—he originally worked as a financial trader with no background in the coffee industry. During visits to suppliers, he was often asked where to find high-quality Colombian coffee. After returning home to Colombia, he reached out to people working in coffee farming, and that’s how he gradually entered the world of specialty coffee.

“Santuario” means “sanctuary” in Spanish. Camilo envisioned creating a refuge and a dream farm in the Cauca mountains of Colombia. The farm mainly grows Bourbon varieties along with several others, at elevations ranging from 1,850 to 2,100 meters above sea level—nearly ideal conditions for coffee cultivation. The farm also operates a large-scale processing center. Their focus goes beyond simply improving coffee quality; they emphasize developing styles and techniques grounded in scientific processes, ensuring consistent quality year after year.

I also want to briefly talk about Direct Coffee, the roastery based in Kyoto. They don’t have an official brand website, nor is there an abundance of written information about them. However, their official Instagram account has around 11,000 followers, which is quite solid compared to many overseas independent roasters I’ve come across. Judging from this particular coffee, you can get a sense of their roasting philosophy. They use a Diedrich roaster—one of my personal favorite brands.

Diedrich roasters are best known for their infrared heating systems. This technology transfers energy directly through infrared radiation, efficiently delivering heat to the drum and the bean surface while minimizing heat loss to the surrounding air. More importantly, this roasting method helps preserve complexity and sweetness in the coffee. Infrared heat reduces the risk of scorching the bean surface and allows for more even internal and external development. That’s exactly why the coffees they roast have such clean, clearly defined flavor profiles. They place strong emphasis on expressing terroir and highlighting sweetness. When you drink their coffee, you can clearly sense its cleanliness, pronounced sweetness, and a gentle yet gradually bright acidity, with a well-structured and layered overall profile.

As soon as you open the bag, you’re greeted by an intense lemongrass aroma. Honestly, smelling something like this in winter feels like spring blooming inside your heart. Within that strong lemongrass aroma, there’s a hint of ginger lingering in the finish—not the sharp, spicy note of aged ginger, but a fresh, uplifting sweetness reminiscent of young ginger. It’s truly unique. Once ground, these aromas become even more intense and expressive.

I brewed this coffee using two different setups. The first was a V60 Drip-Assist (Smart Dripper) used purely as a V60 cone, just like the barista did at the expo. The valve was kept open throughout, with no immersion involved. The pouring focused on a small central area, mostly using a single continuous pour. I used 92°C water (Nongfu Spring), a brew ratio of about 1:16, and a total brew time of around 1 minute and 55 seconds, including a 20-second bloom. In the V60, the citrus notes really stood out, with acidity that was extremely gentle yet bright. It was a genuinely pleasant sensory experience. The highlight, though, was the mouthfeel—exceptionally smooth and round, almost rolling across the tongue. It felt refined and elegant.

The second method I used was a three-hole flat-bottom dripper paired with Læsseyr filter paper, a setup I’ve been using quite often recently. With this dripper, I usually go for a slightly tighter ratio—around 1:15. Using 15 grams of coffee and yielding about 198 grams of brewed coffee results in an effective ratio closer to 1:13. This slightly higher concentration brings out a richer sweetness, which is exactly what I was aiming for. In the flat-bottom dripper, the flavors came through more boldly: bright lemon and citrus notes, paired with a delicate ginger aroma. The smooth, rounded texture was consistently satisfying in every cup. It’s the kind of coffee that makes you finish it almost without realizing it—pure comfort, like a gentle massage for your taste buds.