Introduction to Peruvian Organic Coffee Cultivation_Flavor Characteristics of Organic Coffee Beans_Is Organic Coffee Delicious

Peru: Geography and Climate

Peru lies in western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean between Chile and Ecuador. Its climate is extremely varied, ranging from tropical in the east to dry desert in the west, and from temperate zones to the cold of the Andes. These different climates are closely tied to Peru's main geographical regions: the western coastal plain, the central Andes, and the eastern lowland jungle of the Amazon Basin.

History of Peruvian Coffee

Although coffee reached Peru as early as the mid-1700s, it wasn't until the 20th century - with rising European demand and a significant decline in Indonesian production - that Peruvian coffee began to be exported commercially. British presence and influence in the country were particularly helpful in growing and promoting exports; in the early 20th century, the British government bought roughly 2 million hectares of land from the Peruvian government as payment for defaulted loans, and much of it became British-owned coffee plantations.

Today Peru has more than 110,000 coffee growers, and coffee exports account for 2% of the national economy and 2% of global coffee supply. Peru is rapidly building a coffee industry chain built on excellent cultivation techniques.

Peruvian Coffee Exports

80% of Peru's coffee is exported through the Port of Callao, which handles 3/4 of the country's imports and 1/4 of its exports. The other 20% is exported through Iquitos and Matarani.

Most of the coffee grown in Peru is exported. In 2012, 264,343 tons were exported to countries including the United States, Germany, Belgium, Colombia and Sweden, while domestic consumption was only about 10%. In 2014, coffee leaf rust struck 130,000 hectares in the country's central highlands, contributing to a 6% decline in 2013 production; compared with the highest production of 30,900 tons, this represented a 15% shortfall.

Peru's coffee industry is one of the country's most important agricultural sectors, accounting for 12% of all agricultural exports in 2004. Peru is also one of the world's largest coffee producers, exporting over 216 million kilograms in 2006. In addition, it is one of the world's major producers of organic and fair trade coffee beans. These exports make Peru the world's ninth-largest coffee producer, though only the third-largest coffee exporter in South America.

Arabica coffee is grown on approximately 200,000 farms in Peru. Most of these farms are very small, averaging less than 2 hectares. Most coffee is processed through cooperatives and then passed through several intermediaries before being exported.

Development of Peruvian Organic Coffee

Like many Central and South American countries, throughout the 20th century farms grew smaller and more fragmented as large European-owned lands were sold or redistributed, giving farmers independence while also limiting their access to resources and larger commercial markets. With no organizations or infrastructure to provide economic or technical support, non-governmental organizations and certification agencies stepped in to fill the gap.

The country holds a considerable number of organic, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certifications (UTZ is also known as the International Quality Certification). About 30% of small farmers are members of democratic cooperatives, which has raised the local profile of coffee but has not brought remarkably high-quality products to consumers.

Coffee Certifications

Rainforest Alliance certification ensures that coffee is grown following sustainable practices that protect biodiversity and promote worker well-being.

Fairtrade certification guarantees that farmers receive fair prices for their coffee and work under safe conditions, empowering communities to invest in their future.

UTZ certification (now part of the Rainforest Alliance) focuses on sustainable farming practices and better opportunities for farmers, their families and the planet.

Peruvian Coffee Production Challenges

In the 2010s, Peru was one of the major Arabica producers, ranking fifth in the world for Arabica production and export. However, the remoteness of the farms and their incredibly small typical size have hindered the differentiation of individual farms - the very thing that enabled microbial development and marketing in other growing regions. The country's lush highlands and excellent heirloom varieties give growers the potential to overcome limited infrastructure and market-access barriers, and as production increases, we are more likely to see such advances.

Peruvian coffee farmers work small plots, and the country's typical micro-wet-milling operations are even smaller. From May to September, farmers harvest ripe cherries and carry them to manual depulpers and wooden fermentation tanks. (In Peru, coffee processing is mainly done by wet milling on the plantation. During this process the moisture content of the beans is reduced to about 20%, and they are then transported to drying facilities. This decentralized system is disadvantageous for the coffee growing areas of northern Peru, however, as it leads to inconsistent quality and encourages decay and fungal growth.)

After processing, most farmers walk or ride mules to the nearest town to sell their coffee - a journey that can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours. On Saturdays, the nearest town square becomes a trading post for surrounding remote growers. Farmers sell their coffee and buy the goods they need for daily life before heading back to the mountains.

Unfortunately, something very common happens at these trading posts: sometimes only one buyer shows up. That significantly lowers the price paid to farmers. Lacking personal warehouse space and able to rely only on unreliable, expensive collective warehouses, farmers often have no choice but to accept lower prices. The more remote the farm, the more the coffee is mixed and traded before it reaches the coast. This disorganized trade system and isolation alienate farmers from the final beverage their farms produce. For years growers focused on exchanging coffee with parchment by weight for dollars, entirely disconnected from the idea of producing a beverage that can be enjoyed or rejected on quality. Intermediate traders even add weight to each bag by sprinkling in sand and water.

Peruvian Coffee Cultivation

Peru's coffee fields are mainly distributed across the northern Cajamarca region, southern Cusco, and the NOP area. Of the varieties, 70% are Typica, 20% are Caturra, and the remainder consists of others such as Catimor. About 75% of growing areas sit at altitudes between 1,000 and 1,800 meters, while plants in shaded areas reach 2,000 plants per hectare. Agriculture is mainly carried out by small farmers, with organic coffee cultivation covering 90,000 hectares.

As the world's eighth-largest coffee producing country, Peru discovered in the past decade that organic coffee holds enormous business opportunity in Europe and America. The coffee fields in Peru's mountains lack running water and electricity, and impoverished indigenous farmers have been accustomed to organic cultivation since ancient times, unable even to purchase or use pesticides and fertilizers. The authorities therefore developed the organic coffee industry, with government guidance and certification, issuing organic certificates to qualified products to facilitate export.

Peru's organic coffee production costs are low, making it the world's largest and cheapest exporter of organic coffee. The other two major organic coffee producing countries are Mexico and Ethiopia, but their prices are higher. The authorities intend to develop Peru into the world's leading organic coffee country, just as Vietnam is the world's largest Robusta producer - although the low-price strategy has caused dissatisfaction among many producing countries. Even so, selling organic coffee cheaply does not mean specialty coffee has disappeared. At the 2010 SCAA "Coffee of the Year" cupping competition, a Typica produced by Cecovasa from the small town of Tunkimayo in Peru's southeastern Puno production area scored 89.2 points, narrowly beating the famous Geisha from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda to take fifth place.

About CENFROCAFE

CENFROCAFE was established in 1999 and is one of the largest and best-organized cooperative organizations in Latin America, with a presence in most regions of Peru. Despite the general lack of a cohesive national coffee association or non-governmental organization, CENFROCAFE has been able to support nearly 2,000 coffee growers by providing agricultural and financial resources while encouraging producers to learn about roasting and access specialty coffee.

Approximately 92% of coffee sold through CENFROCAFE is organic, and 100% is certified Fairtrade. This has improved product quality and built demand for Peruvian organic coffee in international markets at competitive prices.

FrontStreet Coffee is a Guangzhou roastery with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Peru's high-altitude washed coffees share the clean, balanced character that defines much of South American specialty coffee - and Colombia is where that style reaches its most familiar expression. FrontStreet's washed Colombia Huila is a good first stop: grown above 1,500 meters in the country's most famous specialty region, medium-dark roasted to highlight sweet dark chocolate and nut notes with moderate body. It suits pour-over and French press, and works just as well in a moka pot or espresso machine for Americanos and lattes.

For something more innovative, FrontStreet's Colombia Finca El Diviso Sidra is processed as an anaerobic natural, shifting into richer tropical fruit aromas. Light-to-medium roasted, it delivers complex notes of passion fruit, grape, apricot and dried fruit whether you brew it as pour-over, cold brew, drip bag or moka pot.