Peru - San Ignacio Organic Washed

Producer Overview:

Located in the north of Peru, close to the border of Ecuador, the town of San Ignacio is nestled along the Andes mountain range. With around 15,000 inhabitants, the town is the largest centre within a 2-hour driving distance. The area is characterized by steep and lush slopes with single roads curling along. Agriculture is the driving income in this region, with coffee being one of the main crops. In 2001, 106 coffee farmers came together to set up a cooperative. They longed to commercialize coffee directly with larger buyers, learn from each other in a structured way and hence improve the quality of their coffees: so UNICAFEC was born. Quickly, the innovative founders realized they could add a premium to their coffees by cultivating in an organic way. In 2002, they implemented the processes to become organic certified, while the Fairtrade certification was approached only three years later. The producers themselves financially backed all efforts.

Nowadays, the cooperative counts a total of 385 members, of which one-third are women producers. Together they handle around 1,100 ha of smallholder coffee plantations, averaging 2-3 ha/farmer. To further improve their coffee quality and productivity, they invested in a wet mill, a dry mill, a warehouse and even their own quality control lab. Next to that, field projects with the farmers are executed. In 2008, for example, UNICAFEC engaged in a fertilizer program, using organic inputs to increase the productivity per tree.

Coffee farms in Peru

Harvesting and Processing:

All of the contributing producers's grown mixed tree varietals, Caturra, Bourbon and Typica are common. Coffee is always hand-harvested and after delivery flotation tanks are used to remove any defects. The coffee is then pulped and fermented dry. This fermentation gives the stick mucilage time to break down but also contributes additional flavour notes to the coffee.

After fermentation, the coffee is washed and dried on concrete patios.

Tasting Notes: 

This is a great example of a classic Peru-washed coffee that is so much more than just an ordinary washed central American coffee! We love the clean but rich body with notes of chocolate, tangerine and golden syrup.

Brewing:

This coffee works well for all brew methods. 

Filter: Dose 15g, water 250g. 

Espresso: Dose 17 gram to 40 gram yield over about 30 seconds. 

This coffee is available as whole bean and pre-ground, but we recommend always grinding fresh before brewing. We sell a range of grinders if you would like to grind this coffee fresh at home.