Papayo: The papaya-shaped Colombian coffee variety

Mango, pineapple, papaya and peach, with jasmine or hibiscus over the top and black tea underneath. That's what Papayo can taste like, and it's a big part of why this rare Colombian variety has people so interested.

Some coffee varieties come with a tidy history. You know where they were bred, which varieties were crossed, who selected them and when they were released. Papayo isn't one of those. It's most closely associated with Huila, it has distinctive elongated cherries, and its genetic background is still being worked out.

In October 2025, Papayo reached one of the biggest stages in coffee. Australian barista Jack Simpson used a Papayo from Finca Zarza in the milk course of his World Barista Championship routine in Milan, and went on to win the title.

Why is it called Papayo?

The name comes from the cherry. Papayo cherries are elongated and pointed at the end, quite unlike the round fruit of Caturra or Castillo, and the shape is said to have reminded producers of papaya.

The cherries tend to grow in tight clusters along the branch. The seeds are large and dense, which gives the green coffee a distinctive look too. Once you've seen it, Papayo is relatively easy to pick out in a field.

Where did Papayo come from?

Nobody has produced a definitive account. Papayo is strongly associated with Huila, particularly around Acevedo and the Pitalito area, but its origins are unconfirmed.

There are several theories. One is that Papayo is a natural mutation of a variety such as Caturra or Bourbon. Another is that it descends from Ethiopian coffee material introduced to Colombia at some point in the past.

Juan Andrés Gutiérrez of Sucafina has pointed to a rumoured former coffee research station near Acevedo. The station is said to have grown varieties from different parts of the world before being abandoned, leaving plants that spread through surrounding farms. Huila has several other unusual coffee populations with similarly uncertain histories, so it's a believable story. There isn't enough surviving documentation to treat it as fact.

Sam Klein of Partners Coffee has suggested that Papayo and the similarly unusual Huila variety Ombligon may be mutations of Pink Bourbon, or of varieties with the same unclear origins. These remain theories rather than established genetic relationships.

The genetics problem

Genetic testing hasn't settled it. So far it has added more questions than answers.

Sucafina states that genetic testing by World Coffee Research indicates a close relationship between Papayo and Ethiopian landrace material. That's one reason the Ethiopian-origin theory is so widely repeated in the trade. World Coffee Research has been more cautious. Asked about Papayo and Ombligon by Perfect Daily Grind, it said it had not verified that they were the same variety, and that multiple samples would need to be genetically tested before claims about their identity or origins could be confirmed.

Then came evidence from Colombia itself. In its 2025 annual report, Cenicafé described genetic fingerprinting of several of the country's better-known specialty varietals. Papayo was tested using 41 KASP markers and compared against 92 accessions from the Colombian Coffee Collection. The results showed 80 to 97% genetic similarity between Papayo and a progeny component of the Castillo variety.

That doesn't mean Papayo is simply Castillo. Similarity to one reference population isn't a complete lineage, and Cenicafé's work was designed to investigate the identities and origins of poorly documented Colombian varietals, not to release Papayo as a new cultivar.

So the evidence currently points in different directions: reported Ethiopian landrace affinity, theories linking Papayo with Pink Bourbon, and genetic similarity to Castillo material. None of it gives us a definitive family tree. For now, the safest description is a distinctive Colombian Arabica variety with an uncertain genetic history, and a single sample or a single origin story can easily mislead.

Where is Papayo grown?

Huila is the centre of Papayo production, and Acevedo is the town most associated with it. Producers such as Miller Bustos at Finca El Mirador have dedicated small areas of their farms to it.

Further south in Huila, Finca Zarza in Bruselas, near Pitalito, is one of the best-known examples. It's run by Jhonatan Gasca and Alejandra Muñoz, and it supplied the coffee for Jack Simpson's routine.

Papayo is also grown outside Huila. Wilton Benítez has produced it at Granja Paraíso 92 in Cauca, and smaller plantings have been reported in Tolima and Quindío.

Most reported lots come from between 1,400 and 2,000 metres, the range Perfect Daily Grind associates with the highest cup scores.

Growing Papayo

There isn't much formal agronomic research on Papayo, so it helps to separate what producers report from what's been scientifically established.

Perfect Daily Grind reports high yields from the variety. Its large cherries and dense seeds are distinctive, and selective harvesting is relatively straightforward because the fruit is easy to identify among other varieties.

The small planted area explains its scarcity better than poor yields do. Most producers growing Papayo have only small blocks of it, and demand for the coffee is still developing. A coffee can be rare simply because very few people grow it.

What does Papayo taste like?

The coffees we've seen from the variety can be intensely sweet, with a silky or juicy texture and plenty of fruit. Mango, pineapple, papaya, peach and cherry have all appeared in producer and buyer descriptions. Black tea and spice can sit underneath the fruit, and some washed coffees lean towards chocolate, caramel and dulce de leche.

Floral notes are common too. Jasmine and hibiscus have both turned up in Colombian lots. The exact profile depends heavily on the farm and the processing, and no single Papayo flavour profile will describe every coffee.

Processing Papayo

Papayo works across a broad range of processing methods. Washed coffees can be clean and sweet, with fruit and floral notes clearly defined. Natural processing tends to add body and fruit, while honey and experimental fermentations can push the coffee in a more aromatic direction.

Anaerobic fermentation has become particularly common among producers working with high-end Papayo. Carbonic maceration is another technique that has been used successfully on the variety.

Roasting a large bean

Papayo's seeds are large and dense, and that changes how we roast it. Heat takes longer to reach the centre of a large, dense bean, so a roast developed too aggressively can leave the outside and the middle out of step.

We approach Papayo more like other large-seeded coffees such as Pacamara than a standard Caturra or Castillo. The aim is to give the bean enough time to develop without flattening its acidity and aromatics. Processing, moisture and density all change how a coffee behaves in the roaster, so no single profile will suit every lot.

Papayo on the competition stage

Papayo had appeared in Colombian competitions before it reached the World Barista Championship. Miller Bustos reports that his Papayo took first place at a local competition several years ago.

Jack Simpson, representing Axil Coffee, won the 2025 World Barista Championship in Milan with 643 points, 15 ahead of Simon SunLei in second. The championship's published coffee information lists Papayo from Finca Zarza in Bruselas, produced by Jhonatan Gasca and Alejandra Muñoz, as his milk course coffee. His espresso course used a Geisha from Jamison Savage's Finca Deborah in Volcán, Panama.

The win put Papayo in front of a far bigger audience, but producers in Huila had already been growing and separating it for years.

Cenicafé's 2025 report also draws on a 2024 national survey that identified 68 coffee varietals in Colombia. Geisha, Pink Bourbon and Papayo were the ones turning up most often in quality competitions and auctions.

Why is Papayo still rare?

Scale is the main reason. Papayo is planted on relatively small areas of Colombian farms. A few producers have made it a meaningful part of their crop, but it hasn't reached the acreage of Caturra, Castillo or other established varieties.

That may change. A high-profile competition result makes it easier for producers to justify planting a new variety, particularly when buyers are looking for it. But expanding takes time. A coffee tree needs several years before a new planting becomes properly productive, and producers have to be comfortable committing land to something with a short commercial track record.

Our Papayo

We've been keeping an eye on Papayo because the coffees are worth tasting before you get to the story.

We've now brought a Papayo lot from Quebraditas, Edinson Argote and Luz Ángela Rojas's farm in Oporapa, Huila, onto the Ozone roster. It's an Advanced Honey process, with black grape, yuzu and cherry in the cup. As it cools it opens up, with more sweetness and aroma.

Quick varietal facts

Varietal: Papayo
Species: Coffea arabica
Pronunciation: pa-pah-yo
Origin: Colombia, particularly Huila
Genetic background: Unconfirmed. Trade testing has linked some Papayo samples with Ethiopian landrace material, while Cenicafé's 2025 fingerprinting found 80 to 97% similarity with a progeny component of Castillo
Cherry appearance: Elongated, oval and pointed, often growing in clusters
Bean characteristics: Large, dense and elongated
Productive regions: Huila, with smaller plantings reported in Cauca, Tolima and Quindío
Typical altitude: Around 1,400 to 2,000m
Yield: Reported as high, although formal agronomic data is limited
Processing: Washed, natural, honey and experimental fermentation methods
Typical cup profile: High sweetness with tropical and stone fruit, citrus, florals, black tea, spice, caramel and chocolate depending on farm and processing
Notable competition appearance: Jack Simpson's 2025 World Barista Championship routine, using Papayo from Finca Zarza in Huila

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