PERU HONEY HUABAL
Profile
- Founded:2000
- Total Members:3053
- Female Members:367
- Organic Members:1883
- Total Hectares:9221.90
- Avg Farm Size:3.02 ha
- Organic Hectares:6267.00
- Full time staff:120
- Fulltime Agronomists:10
CENFROCAFE was founded in 1999 with 220 small-scale coffee farmers in eleven community-based associations. Nearly fifteen years after their founding, CENFROCAFE, now based out of Jaen, serves more than 3,000 farmer members in local associations spanning across twelve districts within the lush Cajamarca region.
From technical assistance and quality control workshops for their farmers, to economic and leadership training for the young people in their rural communities, CENFROCAFE works not only to support the commercial endeavors of its members – but also to facilitate the development of their communities as a whole. The CENFROCAFE financial team provides short-term credit that help farmers cover the front-end costs of the harvest and materials in the coffee production.
CENFROCAFE is one of the leaders in creating a cooperative alliance with like-minded associations in the greater Cajamarca region to provide important technical and marketing services to thousands of small-scale farmers in Northern Peru. Without this kind of strong organization, local farmers would have otherwise been left each to his or her own devices to develop best practices for healthy fields and increased production yields, or for the marketing and sales of their coffee.
Results to date are impressive. On average, CENFROCAFE producers yield 20qq (100lb sacks of parchment) of organic coffee per hectare, and often show in the top finalists in national and international quality competitions. The improved revenue for CENFROCAFE farmers has been instrumental for their access to basic health, education, and other social services.
CENFROCAFE founding member and former president of the producer Board of Directors, Anselmo Huaman Moreto, explains: “A huge difference in our lives is that now our children can actually go to school, our coffee is being recognized in the market for the quality we produce, we are receiving a fair price for our efforts, and our members can be proud again to be farmers.”
We began importing from CENFROCAFE in 2005. Since then, our relationship with this cooperative has flourished both in coffee purchases – with more than 2 million pounds direct purchased — as well as roaster efforts to support their production and quality improvement initiatives.
Tasting profile: Juicy acidity, medium body with milk chocolate, dried fruits, orange and caramel flavors
KARLA PORTILLO
Finca Planeta VerdeProducer:Karla Patricia Portillo
Altitude:1,598 MASL
Variety:Icatú
Processing: Honey/Washed
Harvest: December to March
Location:El Cerrón, Marcala.
Producer Histroy
Planeta Verde was born on June 15th, 2015. It was conceived as a family project with the clear objective to process high quality organic coffee in harmony with nature, so that the person that consumes it can enjoy the true flavour of coffee.
Karla's family had already planted coffee on the farm, as most families in their vicinity. The area was known for excellent quality due to the prevalence of traditional and exotic varieties such as bourbon, catuaí and others. However, because of climate change, plagues and other diseases drastically reduced production for these traditional cultivars. This led them to plant icatú, which has proven to be resistant to diseases and has maintained cup quality.
Karla Patricia is a third-generation coffee farmer, and the accumulated experience of generations is manifested in the quality of the coffee. The family considers coffee growing to be very rewarding. How motivating it is to feel the breeze at the foot of the mountain, to enjoy nature's beauty listening to birdsong, and see animals such as squirrels and guatusas side by side with coffee trees. The experience is unmatched.
It was not until the 2016-2017 harvest that Karla, with guidance from COMSA, began to work with specialty coffees, specializing in the production of honey and natural coffees. The processing of these types of coffees is almost an artform as they are prepared in a very artisanal manner. But with enough passion, it becomes a delicate labour of balancing the elements so that the profile of every batch is almost impossible to replicate. That is to say that even if they apply the same process to the same coffee from the same trees, they are always surprised by a different product, but never an inferior quality.
MARÍA TRANCITO
Finca La EncantadaProducer: María Trancito
Altitude:1,520 MASL
Variety: Catuaí, H27 and Geisha
Processing: Washed
Harvest: December to March
Location: Guascotoro, San José
About the producer:
Doña María Transito, is a second-generation coffee farmer. Her mother María, was the first person in her family to grow coffee. María the younger began her coffee project at the age of 28. She saved up some money from selling candies and food and purchased her small parcel in the community of Guascotoro, San José, close to Marcala.
Finca La Encantada is a coffee farm that began from zero. She started her nursery and planted her own seedlings in order to become the productive farm it is today, which allowed Maria to provide an education to her children and improve the overall conditions of her family's life.
Doña María recognizes that in the beginning it was not easy to start working in coffee because at the time there was not a lot of information about organic production. With time, the COMSA organization appeared with a very different vision with which she identified and began to put into practice.
Doña María, along with her children, have dedicated a lot of time learning about the different coffee varieties and processes in order to improve and maximize the potential for quality in the cup. Harvest after harvest, quality has been constant.
In Finca La Encantada they have put in place practices that are friendly to the environment, resulting in high fertility levels that provide high yields and cup quality.