Peru San Fernando

This coffee is coffee originated from what was once part of the Inca Empire in Peru, in Cusco. The coffee plantations are located under the snowy Choqesafra valley of the Inkawasi district. Here the indigenous farmers follow in the footsteps of their ancestors working in harmony with the environment and mother earth.

The coffees are grown under shade covering with close attention paid to the health of the soils and irrigation to help the coffee trees thrive. These coffees are made up of two Cooperatives Valle Incahuasi and Cooperativa San Fernando Together the group encompasses 1000 members who on average handle 1.50 hectares of coffee, with productivity of 20qq /hectare. This equates to about 20 bags of green coffee per farm each harvest. The quality of the coffees from this region is well known and in 2020 one of their producers from Incahuasi placed 1st in the Cup of Excellence with a washed geisha lot. They also had two more producers in the top 10 this year as well. In each area, there is a centralized processing plant where cherry coffee is collected in addition to pulping, fermentation, washing, drying, and temporary storage, to later be transferred to the central warehouse, where sampling and physical and sensory evaluation are carried out by the quality analyst. Natural Process The coffees come from four regions of San Fernando, Pacayamba, Amabamba, and Apaylla and the processing is controlled by the Cooperativa Incahuasi. The majority of the cherry comes from the San Fernando area which produces about 60 - 70 % of the total volume. The process is carried out with good control of a harvest with selective picking and separation of the cherry at the first step. Coffee is then cleaned and washed before being placed on raised African style drying beds. From here the coffee is laid thinly to start with to get the skin drying phase done where the moisture will reduce from 55-60% down to 25 - 30%. This stage helps to prevent the spoiling of the coffee and any chance of defects. From here the coffee then takes around 28 days to dry with regular turning on the beds each hour to create consistency and uniformity. Once it has reached 10% moisture the coffee is stored in the warehoused to rest and be cupped and categorized.

The natural process is also good for the environment reducing the need for water that can contaminate local water sources as well as the need for energy to power mechanical driers. All the drying of these coffees is done using the natural warmth and heat of the sun. This San Fernando lot was cupped and separated at the mill before then being bagged and milled ready for export in Lima.