Lomaverde Chiroso Washed
Complex and floral with vibrant cumquat acidity. Guava, black currant and yellow peach sweetness.
This 100% Chiroso microlot was grown and processed at Finca Lomaverde, a stunning farm owned by our good friends and longtime Colombian export partners the Echavarría family of Pergamino Coffee. Lomaverde was initially the largest of five parcels that made up Santa Bárbara Estate, which was established in the hills of the state of Antioquia by Pedro Echavarría Sr. in the 1970s. Today, the 70-hectare property (35 of which are under coffee) acts as the family’s beating heart in the region, as it has been transformed with a look towards the future by prioritising a more sustainable approach to farming while also introducing rare varieties and innovative processing methods that have resulted in some of the country’s most elegant and refined coffees.
Lomaverde sits at a staggering 1,950m above sea level, with rich volcanic soil and abundant water sources that contribute to excellent fruit quality – even at such a high elevation. Over the years, the family have shifted their goals for the property, as it once primarily produced large volume lots of Caturra and later Colombia (following devastating bouts of leaf rust in the 2000s). Over the last decade, Lomaverde’s productivity has been in decline largely due to the effects of climate change, which have led to minimal volumes produced during Colombia’s fly crop, after once representing more than 30% of the estate’s production. Combined with a rise in labour shortages, Pedro Echavarría Jr., who now leads the family’s coffee operations, made the decision to downsize the number of hectares under production.
This change has had several benefits for the Echavarrías. Guided by the advice of Leo Henao, Pergamino’s Director of Coffee, and brother Juan (who provides agronomical support to all producing partners Pergamino source from), varieties like Chiroso and Gesha began to be planted throughout the farm, at lower densities than the old Caturra and Colombia trees. In practice, this means the farm can be managed more easily and carefully, as harvesters can select cherry based on sun aspect and site, to ensure only the very best are picked. Additionally, the change has left space for more shade to be established, and for pruning practices to be adapted to ensure it can happen more regularly without the need for stumping trees entirely.
Many of Pedro’s strategies have been learned during his sourcing trips throughout Colombia’s coffee-growing regions. Here, he noticed the style of farm management a smaller operation afforded producers they were buying coffee from, and how much better coffees were tasting—with a lower environmental footprint—as a result. This focus on quality, rather than quantity, has also helped the Echavarrías devote more resources to protecting Lomaverde’s health. While a complete shift to organic has not been possible (yet!), the farm’s team have drastically reduced their reliance on chemical inputs. Most of this has been done through better manual control of weeds and through the application of an organic solution made with a compost of cherry husks, coffee pulp, spent grounds from Pergamino’s cafes and a mix of beneficial microorganisms. The farm feels as lush and healthy as ever, and the Echavarrías have positioned themselves as leaders of Colombia’s coffee industry well into the future.
ABOUT SANTA BARBARA ESTATE
Santa Barbara Estate was established by Pedro Echavarría Sr. in the 1970s, when he purchased a small, abandoned farm in his home state of Antioquia, in the north-west of Colombia. From the very beginning, Pedro Sr. recognised that selecting the right location for his farms was critical. For this reason, he chose to grow coffee high up in Antioquia’s side of the Andes mountain range, which had the perfect conditions to produce exceptional coffee, with a unique microclimate, rich volcanic soil and high elevations. His passion for coffee continued to flourish as the property eventually extended into the small town of Santa Barbara. By marrying hard work, precision and efficiency with ideal coffee-producing conditions, Pedro was able to increase the estate’s area under cultivation and develop a reputation as a quality-focused coffee producer.
Today, some 45 people are employed year-round at Santa Barbara. Several of them also receive free housing for themselves and their families on the farm, with many having worked for with the Echavarrías for a decade or more. A further 120-150 seasonal workers are hired during the main harvest, comprised mainly of small-scale coffee producers from around Santa Bárbara, who pick coffee to supplement their income. The Echavarría family run extensive scholarship and financial aid programs for their staff’s children, and make an effort to help long-standing employees acquire their own piece of land upon retirement.
Beyond their work at the estate, the Echavarrías have gone on to positively impact hundreds of other coffee-growing families across Colombia through their roastery, cafes and export business, both of which operate under the name Pergamino. In establishing these, Pedro, along with Pergamino’s first employee (and now Director of Coffee) Leonardo Henao, have developed the Allied Producer Program. Through this initiative, Pergamino have built long-standing relationships with a myriad of smallholder producers and connected them with international buyers like MCM more directly, helping them fetch higher prices for their crop and cultivating a more independent supply chain.
ABOUT THE CHIROSO VARIETY
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, which Leo processed with right-hand person Jorge Cuéllar) and has brought international attention to this corner 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 the first farm Leo owned, 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. Leo has also planted it throughout El Jardín, his latest agricultural project where a few other rare varieties have been planted and experimental processing methods are employed.
ABOUT ANTIOQUIA
Antioquia is located in central northwestern Colombia. Coffee was introduced to the region in the latter part of the 19thcentury. Since then, this mountainous, fertile department has 128,000 hectares of coffee that is produced by a mix of large estates and tiny farms.
Antioquia only recently became more accessible to specialty coffee buyers – largely thanks to a transformation of the department led by Sergio Fajardo, who was the governor of the department between 2012-2016. Sergio transformed Antioquia’s capital city, Medellín, from a violent and dangerous place to a world-class tourist destination with a strong economy. Coffee has played a significant role in this this transformation, and as access to many producers has improved, the region has become one of Colombia’s most important and celebrated coffee-producing areas.
Our export partners for this coffee, Pergamino, have worked hard commercialise specialty-grade coffee throughout Antioquia, and have uncovered some stunning coffees and very dedicated producers in the process. They work closely with the producers to give them feedback on their coffees (provided by Pergamino’s expert team of cuppers) and provide top up payments when the coffee is sold at a higher premium.
Head here to learn more about the work of Pergamino and Léo’s role within the business.
HOW THIS COFFEE WAS PROCESSED
The coffee is selectively hand-harvested and then transported to the family’s mill, La Joyería. Farm administrator William is tasked with instructing seasonal workers when cherries are ready for picking, and later inspecting everything that is delivered to ensure less than 3% of the total crop processed is made up of unripe fruit. To ensure William’s success, the Echavarría family also use a combination of education and economic incentives. As they explained the first time we visited them, ‘We are working with our pickers to teach them why it is so important that they pick the fully ripened beans, as most of them have no idea of the effects of their job on the final product. We also complement this with a set of collective incentives. Throughout the day, we are taking constant measures of the quality of the picking, measuring what percentage of unripe beans we have. When this percentage reaches a certain point, a bonus kicks in, and then next day picking will be paid with a bonus. So far we have seen great results.’
Pedro and Leo manage the wet mill with a blend of art, industrial rigour and scientific curiosity. Leo, in addition to being an agronomist, has earned a masters degree in fermentation processing at the National University’s Medellín branch, and has developed a unique method of processing coffee known as extended fermentation. In this method, two days’ worth of cherry pickings is used. Coffee picked on the second day is pulped and added to fermentation tanks that already hold the first day’s mucilage, which has been fermenting for 24 hours. The team does this for a third day, and then leave the entire mass of parchment to rest for another 24 hours in order to homogenise the entire collection. Through this method, the freshly picked and pulped coffee raises the pH level of the fermentation tank (making it more alkaline), permitting longer fermentation times that will produce a fruit-forward cup, without the acetic acid produced by bacteria at a low pH. The team is then able to maintain the correct pH level and avoid those that can lead to over fermented, boozy flavours during processing.
In addition to giving more control over pH levels, this method also gives more control over yeast and bacteria activity. The inspiration for the process was taken from small farmers throughout Antioquia and Huila, who often have two to three days pickings fermenting together, as their farms are so small that one day’s picking is often not sufficient to make up an entire lot. Pedro and Leo have worked to perfect the process and adapt it for larger-scale production.
After fermentation, the coffee is washed and dried under greenhouse conditions for between two to three weeks, depending on the weather. The slow and steady drying ensures even moisture loss and stable water activity. After the parchment is fully dried to the optimal humidity, it is delivered to Pergamino’s dry mill in Medellín for quality assessment, storage and eventual export.
