This coffee is grown in the Piura region of Northern Peru, this is a community lot coffee with an SCA score of 85 points. In the cup you can expect a very balanced profile, with hints of sugar cane and cocoa chocolate.
Peru is the land of diversity. There are many ecosystems in Peru, and one can be found next to the other. Needless to say this impacts the range of flavours found in our cups. But to what extent? We’ve only started to grasp the very surface of understanding its true potential! One thing is sure, Peruvian coffees are all characterized by a deep sweetness.
Most of the coffee producers in Peru are small-scale farmers with an average of 2 to 3 hectares. Labour is divided within the family, shared among neighbours and the community, or acquired through hiring. The latter especially happens during the busy times of the harvest season. Most producer families have their own small processing plants at farm level. Here they they de-pulp, ferment, wash and dry so that they can sell the parchment coffee.
Coffee is either sold to buyers who come to the farm, or at nearby market places, where buyers’ have their agents or small offices. Approximately 30% of Peru’s coffee growers are members of cooperatives, and sell (part of) their coffees through these coöps.
Over the past decades, the cooperative movement has become quite strong in the country. And this has helped the national sector to meet growing demands for Organic and Fairtrade coffee, and build a reputation as a leader in certified Arabica coffee production (in bulk volumes). Accessing certified markets has helped members of cooperatives to become less vulnerable to volatile prices of the coffee market. And price premiums have contributed in improving infrastructure, processing and exporting, training members and creating social development projects.
At the same time, the infrastructure of the sector has become very focused on high volumes, and less on creating direct financial incentives for producers to invest in quality. Also, many producers lack access to technical support if they would want to shift their focus towards producing quality coffee. And there is a serious need for dialogues to understand what the specialty market requires.
