Peru La Higuera

Origin: La Higuera

Various

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.

Varieties:

Like most places in northern Peru the varieties of the group will often be mixed, and many of the trees have been in the region for almost 40 years. They mainly have local Caturra, Catuai, Bourbons, some Typica, and Catimor. But Catimor is both rare and diminishing. The local producers call the non-Catimor trees “Bourbon” or “Costa Rica,” even if they could be Caturras or Catuai, etc.

Picking:

The farms are family operations and everyone will normally contribute. A few might have employed pickers in the harvesting season, but the farmers and family members also help each other picking coffee in the harvesting season. They have something called “Mingas” that means today for you, tomorrow for me. They will try to pick in passes according to when they have enough ripe cherries on the trees.

Processing:

After harvesting they will pulp and ferment the coffees in their micro mills at the farms. It’s normally a small pulper and a wooden or concrete fermentation tank. But many are also fermenting in bags.

Within this group there are two main methods of processing. In the first method cherries are picked in the morning and floated immediately after harvesting to remove overripe and defective cherries. The next day, very early in the morning, the producer will remove the skin and fruit with mechanical de-pulpers. The second method involves pulping the cherries in the mechanical de-pulpers immediately after harvest. In both cases, the process is without water, meaning dry fermentation. They generally ferment in tanks or bags from 15 to 24 or 48 hours. After that, they will wash and rinse the parchment before it’s moved for drying.

Drying:

The farmers in this place dry most of the coffee on a plastic tarp or have small polypropylene tents on the ground, under a shade. They will properly cover the parchment at night. Only 2 of the 12 producers dry on tables. The drying time is 12-25 days, targeting moisture levels between 9-11%.

Our sourcing program: The coffees are either micro-lots or communal or cooperative 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 and sit on enough parchment to create potential micro-lots or improved community blends.

So far most of our coffees are coming from small caserios (villages) in La Coipa, Colosay, San Ignacio and other similar 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 in producing quality year after year.

In general

Average farm size: Less than 2 hectares
Harvesting season: May – October
Process: Almost only washed processed at the farms in tiny micro mills
Fermentation: Mainly dry fermented in small wood or concrete tanks. Some are doing wet fermentation.
Drying: On plastic on the ground, rooftops, parabolic dryers, etc. A few are using tables/African beds.
Altitudes: Mainly 1600 – 2000 masl
Varieties: Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Pache, Costa Rica, Catimor. Recently they have begun planting Geisha
They measure picking in “Lata” (buckets) 1 lata is 13,5 kg cherry 20 lata is 1 quintal of greens (46 kg) but is counted in parchment quintal. In this case they count 55.2 kg of parchment They measure in hectares, but do also use the name cuadra or manzanas. The normal yield on average farms is about 15-18 quintales greens per hectares. The really well-managed farms can easily double the volumes per hectare.

What you need to know about the price data

Farmer delivers: Parchment
Unit of Measurement: Quintal (55.2kg of parchment)
Currency: Sol (PEN)
Average cost of production: 320 – 400 PEN/quintal*
If the coffee meets our quality standards on humidity and has a minimum score of 85, we pay a base price of 800-900 PEN per quintal. The price depends on the program and the commitment of the producer.

If the coffee cups above 87, and there is sufficient volume for a micro-lot, we pay an additional 100-150 PEN per quintal after the coffee has been contracted and exported. –

*Source: Origin Coffee Lab, Eleva Finca