This is our first year purchasing coffee from Juan Florez, and a continuation of our exploration of Urrao and the Chiroso variety. In the cup we find yellow tropical fruit, soft florals, and hops.
Chiroso
Los Aguacates, Urrao
2,010 masl
February 2026
Hand-picked at peak ripeness. Floated to further remove defects. Held in sacks for up to two days. Transported by horse to the main road, then by car to the house and mill. De-pulped. Fermented underwater in stainless steel tanks for five days. Dried until moisture content reaches 10.5%.
This is a continuation of our exploration of Urrao and our first year purchasing coffee from Juan Danilo. He is a young, second-generation producer with a small farm situated just above 2,000 masl. A number of producers in Urrao are now using a processing method known as cochadas, in which coffee is added to the fermentation tank over the course of several days—a practice that has emerged naturally from the small harvest volumes common to the region.
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.