Colombia Urrao Finca La Falda Santiago Caro Chiroso long fermentation

Colombia Urrao Finca La Falda Santiago Caro Chiroso long fermentation

Finca La Falda is located in Urrao (Antioquia Department, Colombia) and is run by Santiago Caro Bermúdez, a 26-year-old coffee producer. The farm is situated at an altitude of 1,930 meters above sea level. This is where Santiago's family grows the highly regarded Chiroso and Geisha varieties. The production process on the farm begins with the hand-picking of coffee cherries at peak ripeness. That same day, the cherries are floated (to separate defective ones) and depulped, then placed in stainless steel tanks, where they ferment for five days. During this time, batches picked on a given day are mixed with batches from the previous day (a practice known in Colombia as por cochada). Finally, the coffee is dried on raised beds for about 15 days, depending on weather conditions, until it reaches a moisture level of 10.5%. Santiago is a coffee producer in a family that has grown coffee for generations. His father instilled in him the discipline needed to work on the farm. Santiago works there alongside his parents and sister. Guided by his own vision for development, he began producing specialty coffee in 2012. According to Santiago, the Caturra Chiroso variety appeared naturally in the area where his farm is located (San Carlos). It stands out for its lance-shaped leaves with strongly wavy, “crimped” edges, as well as its exceptional quality, expressed in floral notes and yellow-fruit aromas. His dream is to secure a good future for his family and the people who work on the farm. He knows he can achieve this only by producing increasingly better coffee and introducing innovations. Chiroso is a new variety grown mainly in Colombia's Antioquia region. Although reports of its cultivation emerged only a few years ago, it is gaining popularity thanks to its tremendous quality potential. Genetic research has classified it as an Ethiopian landrace variety (a so-called „landrace”).