Roasting date: 01/03/2021
Trader: Sucafina
Altitude: 1500masl
Variety: Caturra
Process: Washed
Producers Nelio and Olga Cordova use sustainable permaculture techniques to farm coffee and protect the rare tropical walnut trees, called nogales, for which their farm is named.
Microclimates in the Oxapampa-Ashaninka-Yanesha Biosphere Reserve are highly variable. An altitude change of as little as 100 meters can result in completely different climates and ecologies.
After selective hand harvest, farmers visually inspect cherry using color-reference cards provided by 7 Elements (ngo to support local farmers) and float ripe, red cherry. Cherry is pulped in a drum pulper and wet fermented in ceramic tanks for an average of 18 hours. The hydro powered pulper at Finca Los Nogales is run on electricity generated by a water wheel. Once fermentation is complete, farmers wash coffee in clean water and lay parchment in thin layers in parabolic dryers. Farmers rake drying parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes an average of 5 to 8 days for parchment to dry.
For 7 Elements, permaculture is an ideology for farming, communities and business that focuses on creating sustainable, resilient systems. In the field, permaculture means an agricultural system with many intercropped species supported by organic fertilization and pest-control systems.
Giorgio Piracci and a close friend founded the NGO (non-governmental organization) 7 Elements to both support Yanesha farmers and create a new business model that would be “a disruptive changemaker” focused on creating more even social, environmental and monetary profits.
Peru holds exceptional promise as a producer of high-quality coffees. The country is the largest exporter of organic Arabica coffee globally. With extremely high altitudes and fertile soils, the country’s smallholder farmers also produce some stunning specialty coffees.
