Colombia Edward Sandoval Chiroso - Washed

FINCA CANTA RANAS
Tastes Like: Lychee, Yellow Peach, Toffee & Florals

Country:  Colombia
State:  Tolima
Municipality:  Santa Isabel
Elevation:  1,900 - 2,000m above sea level
Variety:  Chiroso
Processing:  Washed
Farm Size:  13 Hectares
Farm Owner:  Edward Sandoval

As Pedro Echavarría (of export partner Pergamino) puts it: “Edward is a rare breed of coffee producer.” After a long career in coffee working as a technical advisor and QC cupper for Colombia’s national coffee organisation, FNC, Edward brings a wealth of experience, insight, and expertise to the operations of his own farm.

ABOUT THE CHIROSO VARIETY

Finca El Jardín (then known as La Palma) was initially planted with Caturra, the most popular variety during the 1970s and 1980s when most local farms were established. This was replaced with the more resilient Colombia in the early 2000s, after a devastating outbreak of coffee leaf rust. However, in recent years, the higher elevations have been replanted again with Chiroso, a new variety that originated in the Urrao region of Antioquia.

The Chiroso variety was ‘discovered’ in the municipality of Urrao (also in the state of Antioquia), where it was initially thought to be a mutation of the Caturra variety, which is widely planted in the area. Chiroso was first selected and cultivated for its resilience to the cool climate of Antioquia, but eventually became recognised for its complex and floral cup profile – and the opportunity it presents in attracting higher premiums from specialty buyers. Coupled with the slow fermentation process typical to the region, this variety has resulted in some outstanding coffee lots (including Colombia’s 2020 Cup of Excellence winner) and has brought international attention to this micro-region of Colombia. More recent DNA studies done on the variety have shown Chiroso to be an Ethiopian landrace variety (similar to the famous Gesha variety), though it is still unclear how it ended up in Antioquia, Colombia.

Local farmers have distinguished two types of Chiroso variety: ‘Chiroso Caturra’, which comes from a shorter tree that produces smaller beans, similar to Caturra, and ‘Chiroso Bourbon,’ which comes from a taller tree and produces more elongated beans, similar to Bourbon. The Chiroso Bourbon was only discovered recently, during one of Pergamino’s visits to José Arcadio Caro, one of the original growers to cultivate Chiroso some thirty years ago. José relayed that every so often there were taller trees growing on his farm, with a distinct size and shape of the cherries. The team at Pergamino first isolated these trees and cultivated them on Léo’s land, Finca Los Palomos, and at Finca Lomaverde—eventually discovering that these plants produced coffees with outstanding complexity and flavour. Today, they have distributed them with several producers who are part of their Allied Producing Program, including Neftalí Castro and Edward Sandoval, both in Tolima, and Jorge Cuéllar, who also farms in Antioquia.