Marta and Jose grew up in the countryside of Antioquia. Once married, they bought a farm high up in Urrao, and decided to focus on quality by planting a variety we love: Chiroso. In the cup we find a structured profile, excellent density, and notes of gooseberry and lemongrass.
Chiroso
Urrao, Antioquia
2,050 masl
December, 2022
Hand picked at peak ripeness. Floated to further remove defects. De-pulped on the day of harvest. Fermented underwater for six days. Washed. Dried on raised beds until moisture content reaches 10.5%.
Marta and Jose bought their farm nearly 24 years ago, and were keen to continue farming as a way of life. Marta grew up farming coffee in Betania, and so, with her lead, she and Jose focused on producing their own high-quality coffee. Marta now works primarily with the harvest, overseeing processing and drying. Their coffee is excellent, and we look forward to deepening our exploration of this region and its many inspiring producers.
Chiroso is a new variety being grown primarily in the region of Antioquia, Colombia. We only started hearing about its cultivation a couple of years ago, but because of its cup quality potential it is beginning to spread. The variety has been genetically identified as an Ethiopian Landrace, but we unfortunately cannot get any more specific than that at this time. We have been working very hard building a buying program in the region of Urrao specifically around the variety of Chiroso. We still don't know where or how this variety came to be cultivated in this particular region, but its cup quality is extraordinary. We will be working with our exporting partner The Coffee Quest to continue developing this project, and hope that we'll be able to bring you more of this special coffee from this special region year after year.
The cost of getting a coffee from cherry to beverage varies enormously depending on its place of origin and the location of its consumption. The inclusion of price transparency is a starting point to inform broader conversation around the true costs of production and the sustainability of specialty coffee as a whole.