This lovely coffee with a subtle almond note reminded us of amaretti biscuits...that lovely sweetness with a hint of almondyness following the almost caramelly sweetness. And then bam, it is accompanied by a fruity note of blackberry...just the right amount of acidity to balance the sweetness of the bean. Yum...fabulous! Coffees grown by Roger Chilcon Flores are known for their beautiful sweetness and this does not disappoint!
Roger Chilcon Flores, coffee farmer
Roger Chilcon Flores is the owner of 3 hectares of coffee in the El Diamante village of San Jose de Lourdes district in Peru, Roger grows both yellow and red caturra and all of his land is above 1900 masl. Some of Roger's family also grow coffee in the area and the family manages the farms together. Whilst each family member owns their own land, Roger manages the picking, processing and drying of the coffee. Cherries are picked as ripe as possible before being pre-fermented overnight in bags. These macerated cherries are then depulped and fermented for 24 to 36 hours depending on the weather conditions. The extended fermentation and cherry maceration gives the cup pronounced fruit notes which complements the citric acidity that comes from the high altitude. Roger dries all of his coffee inside ventilated greenhouses on plastic lined wooden patios. Once the coffee is below 11% moisture content, Roger brings the coffee down to Jaen where he delivers it to Falcon Coffees Peru warehouse.
El Diamante region
El Diamante is one of the closest coffee producing areas to the city of Jaen and therefore has a huge cooperative presence, at least in the lower elevations. Falcon work with a couple of coffee producing families in El Diamante who have farms from 1600 to 2000 masl. The main varieties grown in the medium altitudes is catuai and castillo, and at higher altitudes it is all bourbon, caturra and typica.
El Diamante is one of the few areas in Jaen to have protected forests which are home to a wide variety of flora and fauna native to the region. Not only that, there are many water sources that supply much of the water to the city. This thriving natural environment creates a beautiful location to grow coffee and also contributes to the richness and stability of the soils in the area.
The cup profile of the coffees in this area is very distinct with a heavily fruited cup and a pronounced acidity.
Information and images provided by Falcon Specialty