Cajamarca | Peru
Look to the east and the verdant Amazon basin stretches out before you. Look to the west—mountains of the high Andes grow taller and taller as they disappear into the distance. Coffee from Peru’s Cajamarca region grows at high elevations—as high as 2,000 meters (6,500 feet)—meaning it matures slowly and the dense beans reflect this in the complex cup profile.
The 150 families that make up Finca Churupampa grouped together to sell their high elevation, high quality coffee grown in northern Peru. Finca Churupampa is the name of the first farm to form the organization, which is locally known as “Finca”.
Producer:
150 families
Region:
Chirinos, Cajamarca
Elevation:
1,700+ meters
Harvest Months:
June - November
Varieties:
Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Pache, Catimor
Processing:
Washed
Certifications:
Organic, Fair Trade
Cup profile:
Plum, raisin, almond, tropical fruits
Finca Churupampa is a 31 hectare organic coffee farm just outside the small town of Chirinos. It began to export directly in 2015. After a successful year, neighboring coffee growing families took notice—an additional 30 organic farms were added to the program. By 2016 that number grew to 110 families, and in 2017, 150 families are part of the Finca Churupampa program.
To join Finca, the coffee producer must agree to a quality improvement program and commit to taking steps every year to improve the health of his coffee plants and the quality of the coffee grown there. Some of the recommendations are installing covered, raised beds for a slow and even drying, building a small scale organic compost fertilizer plant on the farm, and using Grain Pro bags to store coffee in parchment before transport to the dry mill.
Finca employs two agronomists to work with farmers on organic production techniques, implement quality improvement methods, and teach them how to cup their own coffees. This coffee is organic by design, not by default.