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Milky Cake

Back in StockBestsellerSweetUnusual

Milky Cake has been with us since 2021 and has become one of our bestsellers. Originally developed with Cata Export and Diego Samuel Bermudez at Finca El Paraíso in Colombia, it’s an advanced anaerobic washed Castillo with a profile that’s hard to mistake for anything else. Vanilla cake, pistachio, cardamom and honey, with a creamy sweetness that works as filter, espresso or with milk.


Origin Colombia
Region Cauca
Producer / Farm Produced by Finca El Paraíso
Harvest 2026
Tasting notes Cardamom, Pistachio, Vanilla Cake
Altitude 1920masl
Varietal Castillo
Process Advanced Fermentation
Intervention Level High

Weight
Roast Profile

FROM ORIGIN TO CUP

Milky Cake keeps coming back because we keep wanting to drink it. Developed exclusively with Cata Export since 2021, this anaerobic washed Castillo from Finca El Paraíso in Cauca opens with vanilla cake and honey, moves into pistachio and cardamom, and finishes creamy and sweet. It works as filter, espresso, or with milk. This lot costs more than previous years. The producer raised the price significantly, and we chose to keep buying it.

Origin

Milky Cake comes from Finca El Paraíso in Piendamó, Cauca, at 1920 masl. When we first started buying the coffee in 2021, the farm was owned by Diego Samuel Bermudez. The coffee and its distinctive processing were developed by Cata Export.

Varietal

Castillo. For Milky Cake, the variety goes through the M03 process, developed to create a very specific and repeatable profile. We’ve now been buying this coffee for several years, with vanilla, spice and creamy sweetness remaining at its core.

Processing

The cherries ferment anaerobically for 72 hours submerged in water with a milk-based culture before being pulped and mixed with the collected leachate. A thermal shock wash follows, then controlled drying in a dehumidifier before the coffee is stabilised, selected and prepared for export.

Intervention level

High. Fermentation, microorganisms, thermal shock and controlled drying are all deliberately managed as part of the M03 process. It’s one of the most technically advanced coffees in our line-up, but coffee is still an agricultural product, so some variation from harvest to harvest is expected. The core Milky Cake profile remains recognisable.

Cardamom
Pistachio
Vanilla Cake

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THE DAK BREW GUIDE

These are the recipes we use every day at the roastery and showroom. We keep them simple on purpose: water, ratio, grind size. The coffee does most of the work when the basics are right. Every setup is different, so treat these as a starting point. Adjust based on what you're tasting and what your equipment gives you.

General

For most grinders and most bars. Balanced, works black and with milk.

• Ratio: 1:2.5
• Dose: 18 g
• Yield: 45 g
• Brew time: 25 seconds
• Pressure: 9 bars
• Temperature: 93°C

For our roast level 1:2.5 ratio fully extracts, balances and opens the cup without thinning it compared to the classic 1:2.

Modern

Longer ratio, lower pressure, shorter contact. More clarity and acidity.

• Ratio: 1:3
• Dose: 18 g
• Yield: 54 g
• Brew time: 20 seconds
• Pressure: 6 bars
• Temperature: 93°C

A note on equipment: 1:3 relies on a flat burr set capable of a very even grind.
On an E65, E80 or Mythos this ratio often tastes watery. If that happens, pull back to 1:2.5.

Advanced (pressure profiled)
For machines with flow or pressure control. This is the showroom recipe.

• Ratio: 1:3
• Dose: 18 g
• Yield: 54 g
• Total brew time: 30 seconds to 1:00 total
• Pre-infusion at 2 bars (about 1 to 2 g/sec flow rate) until 1g in the cup, 15 to 30 seconds
• Main extraction: 6 bars until 18g yield. (about 5 to 6 g/sec flow rate)
• Post-infusion: 2 bars (about 1 to 2 g/sec flow rate) until 54g final yield
• Temperature 93°C

• Ratio: 1:15
• Dose: 16.5 g
• Water: 250 g
• Brew time: 2:00 minutes to 2:30 minutes
• Temperature: 92°C

Poring structure

Start your timer with the first pour. The weights below are the total water added.

• 0:00 pour to 50g (8 g/sec, medium)
• 0:30 pour to 120g (8 g/sec, medium)
• 1:00 pour to 190g (3 g/sec, very low)
• 1:30 pour to 250g (3 g/sec, very low)

Pouring very slowly keeps the bed open. Let the water draw down to finish the brew.

Water is 98% of your cup, so it changes everything. Mineral content varies between cities, neighbourhoods, and even seasons depending on which reservoir is supplying the tap. If your water is hard (above 150ppm), switch to a soft bottled water around 50ppm. Too soft is always better than too hard. The difference in the cup is immediate.

Ethiopian coffees
Ethiopian beans are more brittle and produce more fines when grinding. Too much agitation during brewing pushes those fines into the filter and slows everything down. Keep agitation low. If the cup still tastes over-extracted or the drawdown stalls, grind coarser and extend the ratio or brew time slightly to compensate.

The look of a shot
Naked portafilters show you what’s happening, but what you see has no reliable connection to what you’ll taste. A messy-looking shot can taste clean, and a photogenic one can taste flat. Taste every shot, even the ones outside your parameters, and adjust from there.

Crema
Crema is gas escaping coffee under pressure. It carries very few desirable flavour compounds and can actually taste harsh. Removing it will almost always improve the cup. With light roast espresso especially, ignore the crema and focus on what’s in the liquid.

Freezing coffee
Freezing keeps coffee at peak flavour, but roasted coffee can’t be thawed and refrozen without losing quality. Vacuum-seal in single doses before freezing. When you’re ready to brew, grind it frozen. Don’t let it thaw first. Every grinder handles frozen beans without issue, and the results are often better. One dose out, the rest stays sealed.

Long ratio (for harder extraction)
For when extraction is more difficult: hard or heavily filtered water, a grinder past its best, or a dense lot.

1:18 ratio. 14g in, 250g out. 2:30 to 3:00. 97°C.
• 0:00 pour to 45g
• 0:30 pour to 90g
• 1:00 pour to 250g

1:20 ratio. 12.5g in, 250g out. 2:15 to 2:45. 97°C.
• 0:00 pour to 40g
• 0:30 pour to 80g
• 1:00 pour to 250g

Adjusting

• If the cup tastes thin, dry or harsh: raise the dose. Move from 15g to 16 or 16.5g at the same 250g yield.
• If espresso tastes watery at 1:3: shorten to 1:2.5 before touching the grind.
• Water: very low or very high TDS shifts everything. Check the water before changing the recipe. If the water cannot be changed, go to the long ratio recipes.