Jorge Rojas - Chiroso Natural

We like to say coffee tells a story, if you’re willing to listen.

This one starts in Planadas, Tolima, with Jorge Rojas. Jorge was just 12 when his father passed away. While most kids were still in school, Jorge was shoulder to shoulder with his mother on their family’s coffee farm. He left school after third grade but he never stopped learning. He just learned a different way: through soil, rain, fruit, and patience.

He joined the ASOPEP association early on and leaned into organic, ecological farming. Together with 300 other farmers, he earned a BIO certification, making him one of the rare producers of organic high-end specialty coffee in Colombia.

This particular lot, awarded 94 points by Coffee Review, is Chiroso, a wild, beautiful variety that traces its roots to Ethiopia, though it was discovered in the town of Urrao, Antioquia. “Chiroso” means “bumpy” or “big” a nod to the lumpy shape of the achira cookie it resembles. The variety’s flavor is just as wild: bright tropical fruit, delicate florals, and a spicy cardamom finish that brings to mind a refined Geisha. That’s no accident—DNA testing shows that Chiroso and Ethiopian heirloom varieties share more than just good looks.

For this lot, Jorge worked hard to extend the natural fermentation to 90 hours. His goals was clear, he wanted to draw out fruitiness and clarity, not funk or weight.  The result is a clean, vibrant natural coffee that doesn’t rely on process for flavor, it leans on the quality of the variety itself.

He gave it plenty of time to rest, 30 days in parchment, so it could express everything it has to offer. Roasting-wise, we started hot and kept development intentionally short to let the fruit shine and leave the cup light on its feet.

This is the kind of coffee we live for, farmer-forward, flavor-focused, rooted in excellence.

Produced by Jorge Rojas in the Planadas region of Tolima, this Colombia offering showcases the unique potential of the Chiroso varietal. Roasted by Big Shoulders Coffee, this lot undergoes a natural process, a method often utilized to enhance the inherent sweetness and complexity of the cherry during drying. While natural-processed coffees frequently exhibit heavier fruit profiles and increased body, this specific selection balances those characteristics with bright tropical fruit, delicate florals, and a distinct spicy cardamom finish.

For those exploring the nuances of this cup, referencing a flavor wheel can be a helpful tool to identify and categorize these diverse aromatic layers. The combination of the Chiroso varietal and the careful post-harvest handling by Rojas results in a profile that highlights the evolving landscape of specialty coffee production in Tolima, moving beyond traditional expectations to offer a vibrant and nuanced sensory experience.