September Coffee - Las Perlitas Chiroso, Colombia Washed

Tasting Notes: Cherry Nibs, Limeade, Strawberry.

Variety: Chiroso
Country: Colombia
Region: Antioquia
Process: Washed
Altitude: 2100 MASL
Harvest: 2024
Farm: Various
Roast Level: Light

Our second year working with the Las Perlitas program from Coffee Quest, this is our first time featuring a Chiroso from Las Perlitas. Las Perlitas means “Little Pearls” and throughout the harvest, it’s quite common that small-holders in Colombia produce lots that aren’t large enough to be exported on their own. However, the quality is often just as good (or better) than samples received from larger lots. As such, they are combined and processed to create this special lot.

In the cup
We get sweet cherry nib candies and strawberry cream. This coffee is very sweet with a deep red profile, with a bright lime-aid like acidity. We also get orange and clementines with a long sweet finish and a silky body.

Processing
Coffees are processed by what is called, "Cochadas", a process where every 4-7 days a new picking is depulped into the days before, and homogenized, and on the final day the coffee is washed and prepared for drying. The majority of the Las Perlitas lot is fermented in water, creating a cleaner profile without excess funk or undesired attributes vs other methods of fermentation.

Variety
Chiroso is a newer variety being grown primarily in the region of Antioquia, Colombia. While we've only been aware of Chiroso for a few years, it is becoming very popular in Colombia because of it's quality potential. The variety has been genetically identified as an Ethiopian Landrace, but we unfortunately cannot get any more specific than that at this time.