April is here! Spring is here! Let’s gooooooooooo!

Super hyped to drop this bombshell coffee sourced by a long-time coffee friend, Juan Carlos Arango. Juan Carlos and I have worked together in coffee for about 7 or 8 years now and he was my introduction to the Chiroso variety wayyy back in ~2018/2019 by way of his importing company Arango Specialty Coffees. I remember getting some green samples and seeing this new and unfamiliar variety listed on it… Well, it was incredible - a Colombian coffee that was delicate in the cup, high hitting florals and citrus fruits and a unique acidity that was much more pointed and present when compared to the broader Huila / Nariño’s that I was more familiar with.

The story goes back to 2014 when Doña Carmen won the Colombia Cup of Excellence with this variety from her farm in Urrao, Antioquia , though, despite the accolades, Chiroso took a backseat to it’s popular Huila counterpart that was putting forth a similar ‘type’ of cup profile, Pink Bourbon. Despite Chiroso winning the COE in 2014, Pink Bourbon bursted onto the scene hailing from a specialty coffee mecca in Colombia, Huila which made it easier for those farmers and that variety to access markets. Antioquia on the other hand, was more well known for ‘volume coffees’ which meant a longer road for Chiroso to reach its deserved fame in the specialty coffee landscape.

The crew at The Coffee Quest, reached out to Doña to find out how this seed made it to this region and she revealed that some years ago, a farmer from Urrao visited a farm in Betuila, Antioquia and saw a specific lot with incredible production.  He asked the farmer for some seeds and brought them back to Urrao.  Eventually, Doña got her hands on some seeds and that’s how Chiroso began to spread throughout Urrao.  Recent genetic testing shows that Chiroso is a mutation of the Ethiopia Landrace variety which makes A TON of sense as the cup profile of Chiroso, most closely resembles that of washed Ethiopian coffees.

Ight, onto this specific gem from the home of Chiroso!

Alberto Montoya grew up in the Urrao region and has many memories of working on coffee plantations in his lifetime. Through many years of working on coffee farms, Alberto eventually saved up enough money to purchase his farm, La Arboleda and began growing his own coffee.  Alberto and his wife of thirty-two years, Maria have honed in on their land and have been producing some incredible coffees for years.  

As a leader in the community, Alberto is always trying to improve the livelihood of the community through development and projects such as roads and bridges. He wants all the families in his community to have access to opportunities and believes direct trade (near and far) can help everyone succeed.

Alberto’s washed Chiroso lot absolutely jumped off the cupping table for me. The cup profile has everything I love about this variety. Intense and refined florals, loud af sweetness, citrus fruits, berries, delicate and tea-like body, and complexity for dayssss. More specifically, I get hit with floral aromatics a la orange blossom which carry over into the cup - especially as it cools - alongside tart notes of yuzu and lemon/lime goodness. This pointed and effervescent acidity is complimented by a saturated red berry-like sweetness alongside notes of apricot and nectarine. It’s like the definition of a ‘super good coffee’ ;).

This is a special one. Enjoy’s first Chiroso release from a long-time coffee bud. It will certainly NOT be our last time seeing this variety this year. Dig in and grab a bag while supplies last!