t level since November 1994 when they averaged 153.33 US cents/lb.
Coffee of Peru
Coffee production came to Peru in the 1700s. After two centuries, the heirloom typical variety still comprises 60 percent of the country’s exports. There are more than 110,000 coffee growers in Peru, most of who are indigenous to these landscapes and speak Spanish as a second language. The average land-holding farmer lives on two or three hectares, hours away from the comforts of electricity and running water. Peru is quickly building a global reputation for producing traditionally cultivated, shade grown, high quality Arabica beans.
Peruvian coffee farmers’ landholdings are small, and the country’s typical micro-wet-milling operation is even smaller. From May to September, farmers pick ripe cherries and carry them to hand pulpers and wooden fermentation tanks. This tradition of micro-wet-milling has protected Peru’s water resources from the devastating effects of river-polluting pulping factories.
After processing their coffee, most farmers hike their beans by foot or mule into the nearest town—a trip that can take anywhere from thirty minutes to eight hours. On Saturdays, the plaza of the closest town becomes a buying and selling station for the surrounding remote coffee growers. Farmers sell their coffee and buy goods for their homes before heading back up the mountainous foot trails.
An unfortunate–but all too common–experience at these buying and selling plazas is the arrival of only one buyer. This dramatically decreases the price paid to farmers for their coffee. With no personal warehouse space and only unreliable, expensive collective storage in town, farmers generally have no option but to accept lower prices. The more remote the farms, the more times the coffees are mixed and traded before they arrive at the coast. Once there, the coffee is dry-milled and prepared for export. This unorganized trading system and isolation has caused farmers to become estranged from the end beverage that comes from their farms. For many years, growers have worked on a weight/dollar exchange for their coffee in the parchment, completely disconnecting the idea that they produce a beverage that will be enjoyed—or thrown away—based on its quality.
There are a number of certified organic cooperatives of small farmers in Northern Peru who produce some excellent coffees and are representative of the enlightened side of specialty coffee that is most commendable. Chanchamayo Valley lies about 200 miles east of Lima in the Andes and is the best known region producing coffee in Peru and the other areas known for coffee is Cuzco.
Peruvian Coffee is generally considered a good blender owing to its pleasant but understated character and is widely used in dark roast blends and as a base of flavoured coffees. Generally the coffees of Peru are mild in acidity, light bodied and aromatic.
Jesusa Colina, who owns a 74 acres (30 hectares) coffee farm on the eastern slope of the Andes. Courtesy Rainforest Alliance
