Peru…so much promise lies in this South American origin. Up until the last harvest I had written Peru off as an origin with nothing but poor quality Organic Fair Trade coffee. Our relationship with Cenfrocafe last harvest taught me something much deeper about Peruvian coffee.
All the proper conditions exist for a coffee cherry to mature to perfection here: good varietals, elevation, rain, shade and soil.

The problem we often find with Peruvian coffee is the constant blending of good and poor quality coffees together, creating something that is just okay or worse. Combine this with lackluster commitments from producers to wait for us to reward them with much higher prices when the cooperatives give them solid Fair Trade prices now—we typically pay double the Fair Trade amount—and you get an idea of how difficult acquiring great coffees from Peru can be.

Well, this harvest we are delving deeper into Peruvian coffee. I’m on my way to Peru to find coffee in a different region than our Cenfrocafe lot. I’ll be in the southern coffee growing region near Cusco. I’m hoping to write updates as the trip progresses but there is always the chance that technology won’t keep up with the remoteness of the coffee growing regions I’m visiting.
Stay tuned!
—Oliver