Regional Details In Peru the bulk of coffee production comes from small farms owned and managed by people who follow organic farm management practice attuned to their cultural connection with the land. Producers typically cultivate coffee on just a few acres of land intercropped with shade trees, bananas, corn, and beans. This particular lot comes from a producer group called Cooperativa Agraria OrĂgenes del Valle de Lacco (CafĂ© OrĂgenes) that cultivates coffee around Lacco Valley, which is located in the Calca province, one of three provinces that form the department of Cusco. Processing Details Each producer in the group carefully harvests and sorts cherries before depulping, fermenting, washing, and drying the coffee using their own micro-mills. Cherries are picked according to ripeness and sorted to remove damaged and underdeveloped fruit. Depulped coffee seeds are dry fermented for up to 48 hours and then washed and dried on raised beds. Dried coffee in parchment is stored in grainpro bags to maintain quality while the coffee rests and awaits preparation for export. Exporting Details While producers design farm management and post-harvest solutions to fit their needs, they also need a strong alliance to bring their coffee to the international market and earn fair prices. ExpoCafe, an export company, has partnered with CafĂ© OrĂgenes to help access the specialty coffee market. At the ExpoCafe dry-mill, traceability and quality control are carefully managed.
