Description
- Origin: Peru
- Region: Cajamarca
- Town: Chirinos
- Farm: Finca Churupampa
- Farmer: Tocto family
- Crop: 2022
- Altitude: 1900m
- Variety: Typica, Caturra, Pache
- Processing: Fully washed
A note from our supplier, This Side Up:
Known for the Andes mountain range, and for its incredible number of microclimates (28!) , Peru is probably one of the best suited countries in the Americas to grow specialty coffee. Coffee was introduced as early as in 1700s, but only at the beginning of the last century the country started to play a prominent role in global coffee exports. This surge in export was consequent to a large loan repayment scheme which handed Britain over 2 million hectares of land that was quickly converted into British owned coffee plantations.
Fast forward to more recent times, the old coffee plantations have been divided and re-distributed among local population, giving rise to a small, fragmented and yet vibrant coffee sector. For decades, the country focused in strengthening the sector and organizing farmers in small holder coffee cooperatives to increase production, with a major focus in fair trade and organic production. This effort led Peru rise the ranks of leading export countries – and leader in organic production. However, it also posed limits to creating the adequate infrastructure to produce high end specialty coffees. In the 2000s, while neighbouring countries started to pay attention to the specialty coffee market in search for premium and added value, Peru struggled to strike its own balance between ‘volume’ and ‘quality’.
Luckily today this is no longer the case, and more producer groups are investing in quality. The Tocto family took it upon themselves to radically change the way they were growing coffee by establishing a new coffee farming model based on principles sustainability and quality. Their farm, Finca Churupampa (a Quechua word, ch’uru means “snail” and pampa means “plains”) quickly became a shiny example of how to integrate agronomic best practices, focused on healthy plants and soil nutrition, and enhancing quality, focused on planting the right varieties and investing in proper processing and drying infrastructure. Quality control is also not new to them. Eber – one of the founders of Finca Churupampa – was one of the first Peruvian cuppers to become Q certified over ten years ago. Lot separation and quality evaluation is routine work at Finca Churupampa.
The Tocto family’s achievement is a national example of how entrepreneurship, respect for local farming traditions, circular thinking and direct roaster relations can completely change rural livelihoods. Since 2011, the coffee farming community in the town Chirinos has done away with the subsistence coffee farming mentality and steadily created a strong, quality focused brand: their innovative processing and independent quality control lab ensure that they can create beautiful coffees that are sought after yearly by the specialty market – up to now mainly in the US. In 2017 This Side Up connected to Churupampa, and we immediately knew we wanted to welcome this group of farmers into our “family” and help them continue their path of quality innovation and expansion to more people in the region. As a first import, we sought to identify lots that represent the breadth that this origin can offer.
Our coffee comes in craft paper bags which contain a plastic liner on the inside to guarantee freshness of our coffee. Please dispose properly at your local plastic trash container. The Village Coffee is roasted fresh every week, and best consumed within four weeks after roast date. Store your coffee in a dry, dark and cool place, avoid the fridge.
