La Higuera # 2 Peru (House Espresso)

Overview

• Origin: La Higuera
• Area/Province: Colasay
• District: La Higuera
• Hamlet: La Higuera
• Drying times: 12-25 days
• Altitude: 1800 - 2200 Masl
• Fermentation time: 15 - 48 hours
• Varieties: Bourbon

The Project:

The Colasay Project These coffees will all come from farmers in small caserios (villages) in the Colasay District, in the Jaen province of north Peru. We started cupping coffees from Colasay last year and we are super excited about this region. We aim at investing in Colasay by building a range of micro-lots and improved communal producer blends.

This coffee is part of a sourcing program through an organisation called Origin Coffee Lab. The coffees are either micro-lots or communal producer blends from the areas in the north around Jaen and San Ignacio. The farms are normally between 1-3 hectares and are family-run. They harvest, pulp, ferment and dry the coffees at the farms. If the producers are part of a premium program, like ours, they will more likely invest in their production to create potential micro-lots.

So far most of our coffees are coming from small caserios (villages) in La Coipa, Colasay, San Ignacio, and a few other places. These are all places that we have identified with great potential through selective cupping. We also know that our exporting partner is investing in the producer relations there with support on quality protocols, traceability programs, and premiums.

The concept for us is the same across the communities where we source. We select micro-lots of the coffees that are high performing at lot sizes between 10 - 20 bags. And we try to buy producer blends from the same areas as much as we can. The program is based on good premiums paid to the producers across all our coffees. To invest in the communities is crucial to get a consistent supply and to give the farmers incentives to invest.

At the farm:

A typical farmer within this program will have just above 2 hectares on average, planted with coffee. They are organic certified. The equipment can be extremely simple, but coffees can still be amazing. Some have their own parabolic dryers, others dry on plastic outside their farms, or use a drying facility at their neighbour's or relative's place. It sounds rough, but the truth is that we have seen amazing coffees, well dried on plastic just outside their front door.