Juan Danilo Florez Chiroso | Colombia

Colombia — Juan Danilo Florez Las Mañanitas Chiroso (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍋 Yellow Tropical Fruit • 🌸 Soft Florals • 🌿 Hops

DETAILS

• Producer: Juan Danilo Florez
• Farm: Las Mañanitas
• Region: Los Aguacates, Urrao, Antioquia, Colombia
• Varietal: Chiroso
• Process: Washed (Cochadas / Five-Day Underwater Fermentation)
• Altitude: 2,010 MASL
• Harvest: February 2026
• Size: 250g

INTRO

A first-year purchase from Juan Danilo Florez at Las Mañanitas — a continuation of SEY's deepening exploration of Urrao and the Chiroso variety. At just over 2,000 MASL in Los Aguacates, this young second-generation producer is working with one of Colombia's most exciting regional varieties using a distinctive five-day cochadas fermentation that has emerged organically from the small harvest volumes common to the area. In the cup: yellow tropical fruit, soft florals, and hops.

THE PRODUCER

Juan Danilo Florez is a young, second-generation producer farming just above 2,000 MASL in Los Aguacates, Urrao — one of Colombia's most rapidly emerging specialty regions. The journey from cherry to processing at Las Mañanitas involves the kind of unhurried, practical logistics that define small-scale farming in this remote part of Antioquia: picked cherries held in sacks for up to two days, transported by horse to the main road, then by car to the house and mill. That patience continues in the fermentation tank.

A number of Urrao producers, including Juan Danilo, now use a method known as cochadas — coffee is added to the fermentation tank progressively over several days as each day's harvest comes in, rather than in a single batch. This practice has emerged naturally from the small harvest volumes typical of the region, and the resulting five-day underwater fermentation builds a distinctive layered complexity and depth that defines this lot.

Chiroso is a variety grown primarily in Antioquia, genetically identified as Ethiopian Landrace. Associated with vibrant tropical fruit and a naturally expressive aromatic profile, its exact origins in Urrao remain unknown — but the extraordinary cup quality it consistently delivers at altitude makes it one of the most compelling varieties in Colombian specialty coffee. SEY are building their buying programme in Urrao specifically around Chiroso, working with exporting partner The Coffee Quest.

THE PROCESS

The Washed Cochadas process at Las Mañanitas involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Chiroso cherries picked at peak ripeness 💧 Flotation — Floated to remove defects before processing ⏳ Cherry hold — Picked cherries held in sacks for up to two days before milling 🐴 Transport — Transported by horse to the main road, then by car to the house and mill 🔧 De-pulping — Outer skin removed at the mill 💧 Cochadas underwater fermentation — Coffee added progressively to stainless steel tanks over several days, fermenting submerged in water for a total of five days ☀️ Drying — Dried until moisture content reaches 10.5%

The five-day cochadas underwater fermentation is the defining step — by adding coffee to the fermentation tank progressively over several days as each harvest comes in, the layers of cherry interact and ferment together over an extended period, building the vivid tropical fruit complexity, soft florality, and distinctive hoppy character that define this lot, while the fully submerged environment keeps the fermentation clean and structured throughout.

THE CUP

A vivid and layered washed Chiroso from one of Urrao's most promising young producers — yellow tropical fruit brightness, soft floral delicacy, and a distinctive hoppy character that makes this lot unmistakably Urrao. A compelling first chapter from Juan Danilo Florez at Las Mañanitas, and another outstanding expression of what SEY's Urrao project continues to uncover.

Flavour Notes

🍋 Yellow Tropical Fruit 🌸 Soft Florals 🌿 Hops