Tucked away in the mountainous landscape of Peru, in the department of Chirinos, sits the coffee producing cooperative La Prosperidad de Chirinos. Almost 50 years old and with more than 700 members, La Prosperidad is a terrific example of a self-sufficient cooperative.
Its members strive for improvement and provide for themselves in many ways, from raising trout, livestock, and guinea pigs for consumption to maintaining the Pachakushi, an organic fertilizer created at the cooperative.
We strive to cultivate strong working relationships with our producers, including our friends at La Prosperidad de Chirinos.*
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Peru Chirinos, from Colectivo Coffee in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THEDETAILS
region: Chirinos, Peru
farm: N/A
producer: smallholder farmers
association: La Prosperidad de Chirinos
elevation: 1200 – 2200
cultivars: Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Pache, Mundo Novo
process: fully washed, patio dried
CUPPINGNOTES
The aroma of the Peru Chirinos is pretty straightforward. There’s nothing about it that’s terribly surprising; it’s just pleasantly fragrant. Citrus, red grape, and molasses mingle with a bouquet of floral aromatics.
The flavor follows the nose – the flavors in the cup are perfectly identical to the aromatics, with some additional nuances. This is a medium-bodied coffee with a heavy, syrupy mouthfeel. Its flavor profile is a bit muddled by big notes of brown sugar, dark cocoa, molasses, and dulce de leche which overshadow the bright, fruity elements, but there are moments of brilliance – especially as the cup cools off. Lemon-lime soda, red grape, Fuji apple, plum, floral aromatics, and a white-wine acidity all play through a semi-dry finish.
FINALTHOUGHTS
Colectivo Coffee really delivered with their Peru Chirinos. This coffee provided a pleasant, pretty straightforward cupping experience. As straightforward as it was, though, it did have some flashes of brilliance that made the cup dynamic.
Personally, though, I think I would have preferred if the cup were a bit more dynamic. While the flavor was really good, the overall profile was a little muddy – a lot of the individual nuances weren’t as bright and lively as they probably could have been (I’m thinking about those white wine and citrus flavors, in particular). That’s a negligible complaint, though, because I see what Colectivo was going for here: taking a brilliant coffee and making it more accessible to the “average” consumer. From that perspective I have to say, “Wow! What a coffee!”
Best of all, for every pound of Peru Chirinos sold, one dollar will be sent back to La Prosperidad to co-fund construction of covered drying patios for the cooperative.
*content courtesy of Colectivo Coffee
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Andrew is a husband, father, dog lover, craft beverage enthusiast, content creator, and niche market Internet celebrity. Formerly of A Table in the Corner of the Cafe and The Pulitzer Project and contributor to Barista Magazine and Mental Floss, he’s been writing on the Internet for years.