Thumbnail Filmstrip of Colombia El Aguacate - Franklin Moreno Images

We are very pleased to bring back Finca El Aguacate from producer Franklin Moreno. We offered the coffee in 2021 and 2023. It was quite popular. It is always gratifying, given the way we evaluate coffee by blind cupping, to have a coffee rise to the top of the heap on multiple occasions. This indicates consistency on the part of the producer as well as their commitment to excellence. We cupped this coffee while it was still at origin and it only just arrived in the US this December, then headed quickly to our roasting plant.

A true multi-generational farm, Finca El Aguacate is home to Franklin Moreno, his father, wife, daughters, granddaughter, and dog, Mono, who Franklin claims has been there longer than him. Together they have 5,200 coffee trees of various ages. Franklin’s father focuses on the 1,200 Caturra trees and Franklin manages 4,000 of the Chiroso varietal, from which this lot derives. He also has plans to plant more, as it is critical to keep production consistent and some of the older trees will need pruning.

The family supports themselves entirely off of their coffee production. Franklin hopes that his decision to focus on quality instead of quantity will pay off with a better price for his beans. He firmly believes that coffee should be de-pulped the same day it is picked (we agree) and also changes the water in his fermentation tanks daily. Once his coffee is fully washed, the cherries now with their outer skin having been removed, are put into fermentation tanks made of cement or lined with ceramic tile. Coffee ferments for 24 to 48 hours in these tanks until the fruit pulp can be rinsed away. During that fermentation period fruit pulp breaks down so that it can later be washed away. Changing the soak water at least once during the process insures a cleaner tasting coffee later. When it comes to drying Franklin considers the process to be more of an art than a science in applying technique. Weather plays an important role and adjustments need to be made accordingly.

Country: Colombia
Farm: El Aguacate
Producer: Franklin Moreno
Region: Antioquia
Altitude: 2050
Varietal: Chiroso
Harvest: September-December

The Chiroso varietal was first grown in the Penderisco Valley in the municipality of Urrao, Antioquia. This beautiful region is located at 2000 meters, over sea level in the occidental mountain range of Colombia. The origin of the varietal is unknown, and there is a lack of formal research on the topic. However, according to coffee farmers in the region, a local farmer in the 1980s constructed a coffee nursery of what he thought was a caturra varietal. When the plants started to grow, he noticed that some of the plants were a little different with respect to the shape of its leaves, thus, 'hoja chirosa' means ragged leaves. Late in the 1980s and early 1990s the region was affected by leaf rust which can destroy coffee trees. The farmer noticed that the coffee trees that were different were staying healthier than his others. This was the main reason the varietal became popular in the region with other farmers. In 2014, Carmen Cecilia Montoya, a farmer from the region, won the Cup of Excellence with a Chiroso varietal. The varietal began to take off in the region because of the high cup quality.

Limited availability!