Colombia — David Berrio Finca La Casita Chiroso (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍈 Kumquat • 🍬 Sugar Cane • 🍐 Pear

DETAILS

• Producer: David Berrio
• Farm: Finca La Casita
• Region: Urrao, Antioquia, Colombia
• Varietal: Chiroso
• Process: Washed
• Elevation: 2,100 masl
• Harvest: March 2026

INTRO David Berrio's latest harvest is outstanding — his hard work and steadfast regimen produce some of the best Chiroso in all of Urrao. This cup has a pillowy soft body with a subtle stone fruit feel, tropical fruit and velvety cherry/berry notes at random, and a distinguished acidity somewhere between starfruit and pear. In the cup: kumquat, sugar cane, and pear.

THE PRODUCER Finca La Casita is managed by David Berrio, a second-generation coffee grower. The farm spans just 1.5 hectares at 2,100 masl, with over 5,000 coffee trees dedicated to growing the highly sought-after Chiroso variety. Processing is genuinely difficult here — the farm sits far from the family home where the wet mill is located, so coffee is picked and left in sacks for two days, then transported by horse to the main road and by car to the house, a journey that can take a couple of hours or more.

Chiroso has recently impressed and excited the world of coffee, landing at the top of Cup of Excellence and among Flower Child's own top-scoring varieties. It's been identified as an Ethiopian Landrace, though little else is known about how it came to be cultivated in Urrao — still difficult to acquire, making a coffee at this level a rare treat.

THE PROCESS After the long journey to the wet mill, the coffee is de-pulped and left in a stainless steel tank for 5 days, with just enough water to cover it. Drying takes 8–12 days in a traditional Colombian dryer called a "casa helda."

The extended 5-day fermentation, combined with the logistical challenge of transporting cherry from such a remote farm, is the defining step — it's what builds the pillowy soft body and distinguished starfruit-pear acidity that define this cup.

THE CUP Pillowy soft with a subtle stone fruit feel — tropical fruit and velvety cherry/berry notes appear at random, with a distinguished acidity in the range of starfruit and pear. An easy, enjoyable coffee, especially on filter.

Flavour Notes 🍈 Kumquat 🍬 Sugar Cane 🍐 Pear