The Project
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 this, they will more likely invest in their production to create potential micro-lots.
Marino Guavara is a farmer in Jaen, from the small village of San Antonio de Chingma, in the Huabal District in northern Peru. Jaen and Huabal are one of the most well-known areas now for specialty, and Jaen city itself has become the hub for coffee in the north.
Naturals in Peru
This is a natural processed coffee, and natural production is in the very early stages in Peru.
The coffee is fermented in cherry, almost as anaerobic for 18 – 30 hours in bags, and then dried on raised beds next to his house. Drying takes about 15-25 days. The flavours of the coffees in this area simply speak to us. Las Pinas is located at 1811 masl. It’s a medium farm by Peruvian standards, about 2 hectares planted with Caturra, Pache, and Catuai. It’s a family operation, but they have pickers helping them in the season. But yield per tree is generally low.
About this coffee
Cupping score: 87.75
Farm: Las Pinas
Producer: Marino Guevara
Region: Huabal
Altitude: 1811 MASL
Variety: pache, caturra, catuaí
Processing: natural
Variety
As 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 typical, and Catimor. But Catimor is both rare and diminishing.
Natural process
Natural sundried, also called “natural process” or “dry process,” means drying coffee cherries whole without the intervention of water or machines to remove any of the fruit. Prior to drying, the cherries are picked, floated in water, and sorted to remove any under-ripe or overripe fruit.
