Chirinos - espresso from Peru

Chirinos is a total work of art. Not only is it one of the butteriest espressos we've ever had, but it's also the product of a shared idea. Producers from three villages in the Chirinos community bring their best cherries to be processed together - so the coffee is a blend that brings flavors of sultanas and dark honey.

Chirinos - green coffee information

Origin: Chirinos, San Ignacio, Cajamarca, Peru

Producers: Blend of producers from three communities

Varieties: Caturra, Catuaí, Typica, Pache - 100% Arabica

Post-harvest process: depulped, fermented without water for 36 hours, dried

Arrived at the roastery: January 2023

This is how we would prepare the Chirinos

Tell me more about Bara

We found the Chirinos thanks to Bara, who we have known for three years but have never seen. We came into contact with Bara from Falcon Coffees in 2020. We looked for a specific flavor profile and shared our ideas with her. Bara sent us three samples and each one met our expectations exactly. With each additional sample and each piece of feedback, we became more attuned to each other. In February we received a few samples from Peru, but Bara said that the Chirinos would suit us. In a blind tasting of nine coffees, we particularly liked one coffee - et voilá.

Tell me more about Chirinos

The espresso is named after a community that consists of three villages. Selected producers who work with Falcon on site harvested their coffee on a specific date, depulped the cherries and fermented them without water for 36 hours according to a common protocol. Then they dried it before these so-called day lots tasted individually and then mixed together. Bara says that the individual lots taste the same and so nothing stood in the way of the blend.

Why did we buy this coffee?

Because this type of collaboration with small producers is future-oriented. Falcon has managed to establish a precise post-harvest process that can be adopted by multiple coffee producers. The result is a coffee that tastes the same and has a great flavor profile. This proves that other producers will be able to join in in the future and gain direct market access.

Why does coffee taste the way it does?

We have been buying coffee from the region around San Ignacio, north of Jaén, for three years. What always impresses us is the high balance between a mild, honey-like sweetness and a fresh, delicate acidity. Only a clean, homogeneous harvest of cherries produces such a soft texture. The short, dry fermentation supports the mouthfeel and leaves the aroma unchanged. The taste reflects the varieties and the work in the field.

How do we roast this coffee?

As a 20kg batch on our 30kg roaster. We roast the coffee in 11:30 minutes and develop it for 1:35 minutes (13.7%). After seven minutes we gradually decrease the energy before we reduce the gas completely after 1 minute in the development time. In this roast we emphasize the texture and the rich honey sweetness.