Chiroso trees are a varietal from the family of the Ethiopian Landrace, sharing its sweet and floral flavours. Although it is hard to pin point the first point of origin for this relatively new variety, it is commonly grown in Antioquia, in the west of Colombia.
It takes its name from the savoury biscuit known as ‘Achira’, local to the Huila department. These bizcochos(biscuits) are made with achira flour instead of wheat flower, and its shape is cylindrical and elongated; much like the Chiroso coffee beans, growing on a highly productive tree, with a pleasant aroma and small flowers.
*Green Chiroso Coffee Beans / Achira Biscuits*
With altitude, weather and farm conditions ranging depending on both farm and location; this varieties' flavour profile ranges from fruity yet sweet peach notes to lemongrass acidity. Our previous Chiroso batch from Antioquia -a washed process- balanced notes of mandarin acidity with sweet honey undertones.
This current batch from El Diviso farm in Huila -a white honey process (meaning that 80-100% of mucilage was removed during processing, resulting in a clean and balanced cup)- highlights notes of orange blossom, apricot and jam.
El Diviso, a Family Lead Farm
El Diviso farm is located in the department of Huila, in southern Colombia, spanned by the Andes mountains and home to towering Nevado del Huila volcano. An amazing location to cultivate coffee because of its green mountains and water sources, this department is also the origin of our current Borbon & Gesha beans.
*El Diviso farm, Huila*
Marta Zuñiga, the original head of the farm, is a traditional coffee grower from Huila, a brave, enterprising and hard-working woman who has worked in the fields since she was young.
El Diviso is a farm that for years has witnessed the effort and hard work of Marta and her family to consolidate themselves in the world of coffee growing. She has involved and supported her children so that they themselves continue with this tradition. Today, her sons Nestor and Adrian have evolved and perfected their coffee processes, positioning several of their coffees with excellence in different countries.
Nestor & Adrian Lasso Zuñiga, from El Diviso
With pride, Ms. Marta tells how her children, instead of going to look for other opportunities in the city, decide to stay on the farm and continue with the activity that is in their blood...”they have grown up in these fields, they have taught me things that even with my experience I did not know and this is the way in which the farm El Diviso continues to grow”.
Leaving the farm in the hands of her children, Marta decides to share her knowledge and experience helping other women who, like her, want to get ahead but do not have enough support to do so. For this reason, she created a small association of women whose main objective is to provide the necessary tools to start their own business in coffee farming. These women are constantly provided with training, advice on their projects, review of their lots, and they are given a space to share their general experiences among them.
In this way, changes in cultural patterns are achieved and women begin to play a very important role not only in society but in an area that for years has been related to work exclusively for men. Today there are more women who decide to have autonomy in their income, work their own farms and dedicate their lives to the art of coffee, bearing in mind that it is a product that not only generates income but also generates pride for thousands of families.
El Diviso farm recently gained media attention after being the producers behind the coffee used by Mikael Jasin, the winner of the World Barista Championship 2024, which took place in Busan, South Korea.
Shipped by Sail - A Low Emission Alternative
We're making an effort to reduce our carbon footprint. This batch of Chiroso is the first of two varieties to be transported from Colombia by sail; using winds as fuel to cross continents.
According to an analysis by UCL, at its worst, coffee producing could have about half of the impact of beef production when it comes to its carbon footprint. That's a lot. Specially considering that coffee production is estimated to increase by triple its size by 2050.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
There are a few things that can be done in order to reduce the carbon footprint of your coffee. Starting at farm level, poly-culture farms will always be best for both the environment and the crops. Farms like the ones lead by the Arhuaco, in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta -where our current batch of Caturra Timor is from- are a great example of how this can be achieved. They consistently grow several crops outside of coffee and maintain traditions around respecting the earth and animals around them.
Transportation is another big factor. How do you transport beans from Colombia (or Africa, Indonesia, Brazil, etc) first to a roastery and then to a shop in a different continent? At the moment the three main options are cargo ship, cargo plane, and cargo sail. Although faster, cargo planes have a considerably larger carbon footprint than any other transport method. Cargo ships, on the other hand, can emit up to 47 times less carbon than air freight. This is how we have transported our beans so far. However, there is more space for improvement!
By shipping our coffee with sailboats and using green energy (the wind!) we're using a transportation method with a significantly smaller carbon footprint.
This current batch of Chiroso is the first to be transported by sail to our roastery in London. We hope to bring in more over time, and extend our ethical practices to further address our own carbon emissions.
Here's to more coffee on bikes and sailboats!
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