Colombia — Luis & Mildred Montoya La Arboleda Chiroso (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🫐 Mulberry • 🍑 Peach • 🍋 Lemon

DETAILS

• Producer: Luis & Mildred Montoya
• Farm: La Arboleda
• Region: Urrao, Antioquia, Colombia
• Varietal: Chiroso
• Process: Washed (Cochadas Underwater Fermentation)
• Altitude: 2,100 MASL
• Harvest: April 2026
• Size: 250g

INTRO

A first-year purchase from Luis and Mildred Montoya at La Arboleda — a continuation of SEY's deepening exploration of Urrao and the Chiroso variety, this time at 2,100 MASL with a father-daughter partnership that has been cultivating Chiroso for specialty since 2010. In the cup: mulberry, peach, and lemon.

THE PRODUCER

Luis Montoya purchased La Arboleda with his brother in 1980 as a commercial coffee and bean farm. Around 2010, the decision was made to plant Chiroso and enter the specialty market — and at that same time, management of the farm transitioned to Luis and his daughter Mildred, who now run La Arboleda together. This is SEY's first year working with their coffee, and a farm visit is already anticipated.

Like many Urrao producers in SEY's programme, the logistics of getting coffee from cherry to processing at La Arboleda involve the kind of patient, practical rhythms that define smallholder farming in this remote part of Antioquia — picked cherries held in-cherry for 24 hours, transported by horse to the main road, then by car to the house and mill. The cochadas fermentation that follows builds further complexity from the accumulated layers of each week's picking.

Chiroso is a variety grown primarily in Antioquia, genetically identified as Ethiopian Landrace. SEY have been building their buying programme in Urrao specifically around Chiroso, working with exporting partner The Coffee Quest. At 2,100 MASL, La Arboleda represents one of the highest-altitude expressions of the variety in the region — and the cup quality is extraordinary.

THE PROCESS

The Washed Cochadas process at La Arboleda involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Chiroso cherries picked at peak ripeness 💧 Flotation — Floated to further remove defects ⏳ 24-hour in-cherry hold — Whole cherries held for 24 hours before processing 🐴 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 throughout the week using the cochadas method, then all washed together on Monday ☀️ Drying — Dried until moisture content reaches 10.5%

The cochadas underwater fermentation is the defining step — by adding new pickings to the fermentation tank progressively across the week and washing all together at the end, Luis and Mildred build a rolling, layered complexity into the lot that a single-batch fermentation cannot achieve, while the fully submerged environment keeps the result clean, bright, and well-defined throughout.

THE CUP

A vivid and beautifully layered washed Chiroso from one of Urrao's highest-altitude farms and a warmly anticipated first-year purchase — mulberry depth, peach sweetness, and a bright lemon acidity in a clean, expressive cup that adds another compelling voice to SEY's Urrao story.

Flavour Notes

🫐 Mulberry 🍑 Peach 🍋 Lemon