Imagine a segment of clementine that's been sprinkled in soft brown sugar. This coffee is sweet, juicy, and very well balanced, finishing with notes of pear and sultana.
This washed Caturra from Martin Chirino offers a beautifully balanced cup with a flavour profile that speaks to both the high-quality processing at Agricafe's Buena Vista mill and the excellent growing conditions found at 1,550 metres in Bolivia's Yungas region.
While the washed process traditionally produces clean, bright cups, Agricafe has refined their approach by introducing an anaerobic fermentation stage. The freshly harvested cherries are depulped and placed into sealed stainless steel fermentation vessels, the kind you would more typically find in a winery or brewery. These tanks allow the Agricafe team to exclude oxygen from the fermentation environment, slowing down the activity of yeasts and bacteria while developing distinct flavour compounds that would not emerge in a conventional open-air fermentation. An on-site laboratory supports this precision, with samples taken and measured daily to provide accurate data for managing each lot.
This level of control delivers remarkable consistency and a cup profile that is both juicy and refined. Think of a segment of clementine that has been sprinkled with soft brown sugar. The sweetness is pronounced but never cloying, balanced by a bright, fruit-forward acidity. As the cup cools, notes of pear and sultana emerge, adding depth and complexity.
Caturra, a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety, is known for producing cups with bright acidity, medium body, and clean, well-defined flavours. It is a compact plant that thrives at high altitudes, and when grown in conditions like those found in Copacabana, it rewards careful cultivation with cups that display both elegance and sweetness.
- FILTER RECIPE
- Suggested method: V60
Dose: 15g
Water: 250ml / 97
Time: 4 mins
To find the method that suits your kit, check out our Brew Guides.
- Country: Bolivia
- Region: Yungas
- Municipality: Caranavi
- Colonia: Copacabana
- Altitude: 1,550 m.a.s.l.
- Producer: Martin Chirino
- Varietal: Caturra
- Processing: Washed
- Fermentation: Anaerobic in stainless steel tanks
- Mill: Agricafe Buena Vista, Caranavi
Don Martin Chirino has been working with coffee for over 40 years, with the last 20 spent cultivating his own 3-hectare farm in the colonia of Copacabana. A colonia is a small Bolivian village, typically home to around 20 or 30 people, with a school, a church, and very little else. It is a setting where life moves at the pace of the seasons and coffee farming is often a multi-generational endeavour. Martin's enthusiasm for the crop has certainly proved infectious: all four of his children now work in the coffee industry.
Martin is one of over 100 independent producers participating in the Sol De La Mañana programme, an initiative run by the Rodriguez family, who own and operate Agricafe, our sourcing partners in Bolivia. The programme began in 2013 when a group of local smallholders approached Pedro Pablo Rodriguez asking for help to improve their farms. What started as informal guidance has developed into a structured seven-year curriculum covering everything from nursery management and plant nutrition to pest prevention, pruning, and financial planning.