Overview

We are delighted to share this vibrant communal lot from five individual producers in the San José de Lourdes district of Peru. It comprises five varietals that are typical of northern Peru (Red Caturra, Yellow Caturra, Bourbon and Catimor). Each producer’s coffee was selected for this exclusive blend because of its high quality and complementary profile. The result is an excellent representation of coffee from this region – expect a cup bursting with berries and a milk chocolate sweetness.

The story

The consolidation of this lot (produced by Don Antonio Regalado, Belver Gonza, Humberto Regalado, Evert Vega and Norbil Campos) was led by Orlando Flores, who has been working closely with these producers since 2021. Orlando has created a system with our partners, Collective Bean, to support producers in the village of El Diamante to improve the quality of their coffee and to connect them to a stable international marketplace.

Orlando collects each producer’s coffee at the end of harvest and makes a first payment to them at an agreed price (providing them with a fast and reliable return on their work). He and Collective Bean together “cup” (taste) and score samples to select which coffees can be consolidated, based on their quality and profile. They then agree on the second payment for each producer, based on quality, thereby increasing the producer’s profits. To ensure a transparent process, Collective Bean also maintains an open line of communication with each producer.

In parallel, Collective Bean train Orlando on improving both coffee quality and yield which he can share with the producers. Recently, this has included teaching how to measure and ensure the optimal moisture content of the beans, and identifying defects – both of which are essential for producing specialty grade coffee. On some occasions the farmers also travel with Orlando to Jaen to participate in the cupping and grading sessions.

Production process

Harvest wrapped up in November 2022. Each individual lot underwent a similar washed process: the coffee was fermented in plastic sacks for 24-48 hours (the exact timing depends on the air temperature), then washed and laid on raised beds in tents to dry for 15-20 days (depending on the weather).