Colombia Los Pinos Chiroso

Altitude: 2378-2390 meters

Varietals: Chiroso

Process:
Cherries are picked and sorted for ripeness, and then placed into plastic barrels for 3 days, followed by depulping and another 3 days of anaerobic fermentation before washing and drying.

Harvest: March-May 2025

Region: Caicedo, Antioquia

Sergio’s Chiroso speaks to a new generation of farmers: young people who see the potential in quality driven coffee production. Instead of focusing on volume, Sergio has honed in on quality above all else. The result is a Chiroso selection that exudes vivid characteristics of nectarine and jasmine tea, followed by a deeply sweet finish of candied hazelnuts. 

Sergio Caro is a first generation coffee farmer of Los Pinos, a farm perched on a verdant hillside overlooking a landscape of small farms and sharp mountain folds. While working for a cooperative in the nearby town of Urrao, Sergio gained firsthand insight into how exceptional coffee is created at the farm level. That experience changed his life. While his siblings left for the city to search for new horizons, Sergio surprised everyone by returning home. The land had always been used for cattle, and the farm sits at one of the highest elevations in the region. Sergio returned with a singular vision: to produce the best coffee in Colombia.

Although the farm covers a large area of land, the coffee production itself remains small. Only a few hundred Chiroso trees are currently planted, and Sergio hopes to expand and one day purchase the farmland outright. What the farm lacks in size, it makes up for in purity and intention. Sergio planted Chiroso for its potential for distinction and beauty in the cup, and so far the results speak clearly. Last year he produced only 1,250 kilos of parchment, yet nearly all of it reached exceptional quality and earned a premium far above the local market.

Wonderstate is proud to be Sergio’s largest buyer. Our commitment is simple: to continue supporting his growth, his vision and the future he is building.

Sergio’s vision for quality led him to experiment with various processing methods, finally landing on a specialized process that highlights the uniqueness of the Chiroso variety. Coffee cherries are hand harvested and sorted for ripeness before being floated to remove low-density and defective cherries. The cherries are then placed into plastic barrels and left to ferment anaerobically for 3 days. After the initial fermentation, the cherries are removed, depulped, and placed back into the same barrels, mixing the depulped seeds with musto (coffee cherry juice). The seeds are then fermented for an additional 3 days before undergoing a soft washing process and then drying on a covered raised bed until optimal moisture content is achieved.

This multi-step process is laborious and time consuming, but ultimately results in richer fruit tones that highlight the uniqueness of the Chiroso variety. 

The Chiroso variety’s origins remain a mystery, though genetic research has confirmed it is an Ethiopian landrace. Like Gesha, Sidra, and Pink Bourbon, its potential for cup quality is extraordinary. This expression of Chiroso carries the hallmark sweetness, subtle florality, and silky texture of Ethiopia’s “heirloom” coffees, while also speaking clearly of the terroir of Caicedo, a small town right outside the borders of Urrao, the birthplace of Chiroso. The result is a cup profile far beyond what most expect from standard Colombian coffees.