Peru has been a cornerstone origin for us for about a decade. Having been introduced to the Valle Inca group in 2018 we have evolved our working relationship to include not just single farm selections but also outturns that we collate based on flavour profile and quality, allowing us to increase our buying volumes with them year on year.
We’re thrilled to now be in a position to carry a single origin Peruvian offering throughout the year, named ‘Chakra’, the Quechuan word for ‘Farm’. This is to showcase that quality begins at farm level, with sustainable agronomical practices, healthy soils and trees, intentional fieldwork and a whole lot of effort and attention during harvesting, processing and drying.
The Association
In 2018, our first year buying coffee through Valle Inca, the group had around 100 members. Thanks to word of mouth, with producers telling their neighbours of the premium prices that they were able to receive having been able to access a more discerning coffee market through the association, the group now works with over 375 producers in the Cusco region and have grown their operations to Puno and other producing areas.
All the members are working organically and are certified as such via the Valle Inca group. For a member to join, there needs to be a baseline of quality met, dictated in part by altitude and the type of varieties planted, but ultimately it is down to the desire of each member to improve their quality through hard work.
The group provides agronomical advice and training as well as pre-financing, so the farmer members are supported in multiple ways. Several of Valle Inca’s members repeatedly place well in Peru’s Cup of Excellence competition.
We remain in touch with José Prudencio, the group’s president, throughout the year to hear how they are progressing and to maintain an open dialogue.
