We would like to introduce you the third and last coffee from Peru that we have bought for you this year. This lot is a blend of daily lots from the San Ignacio growing region which in this case come only from the municipality of Chirinos. San Ignacio is made up of three areas: Chirinos, San José de Lourdes (the previous coffee from Anai Dalila Guevara) and Tabaconas.
The farmers in this area collect and process the coffee themselves and usually dry it on raised terraces. The cherries are usually fermented for 24-36 hours and drying takes just 7 days. The high altitude of the Andes, combined with the rich volcanic soil and tropical rainfall means that Peru has the ideal topography and climate for producing high quality Arabica coffee. The problem so far has been in post-harvest processing. Farmers have had little or no training in the chemistry and precision required to achieve maximum quality in their coffee. Our green bean importer Falcon, from whom we buy our coffees from Peru, has focused on growing Peruvian coffees. They realized that if they provided training that required attention to detail they would have to offer a financial incentive to reward those farmers who made the effort.
In 2018 Falcon Peru SARL was registered as an export company and opened a small warehouse with a quality control laboratory in the northern city of Jaen, Cajamarca. Farmers bring already processed coffee to the warehouse for quality analysis some of them tasting their own coffee for the first time. They immediately receive a score for the cup and an offer price which they can accept or reject. In 2019 and 2020, Falcon paid on average double the commercial rate for parchment in Jaen.
In 2018, Falcon Coffees Peru formed a partnership with 35 growers with initial revenue. These farmers were selected based on their potential and willingness to produce exceptional quality and most of them were based in an area called Huabal. In 2022 Falcon Coffees Peru is already working with 275 producers in 15 districts in Cajamarca. Three producer associations. It employs ten full-time people 50% of whom are women.
They focused on improving operations and technical activities. This has enabled them to increase volumes and develop their own facilities in dedicated warehouse space. Since many small growers do not have the infrastructure on the farm to properly dry coffee they also installed additional drying equipment near the warehouse to allow growers to achieve optimal moisture and improve cup quality that would otherwise be lost where coffee cannot be properly dried.
Notes from our baristas: We have long nicknamed Peru the American Kenya at our roastery. This coffee beautifully confirms this with its juiciness. We used the same grind as we are used to with other washed coffees. We found the preparation at the best on the V60 best when extracting is around three minutes. The result was a fruity and beautifully juicy cup with a distinct acidity on the body and an almost jammy sweetness. There was a nice chocolate aftertaste on the tongue at the finish.
