Peru Flor de Selva

This is an SHB MCM Grade 1 coffee from Peru's San Igancio region, in the La Coipa district.
This blend consists of the Varieties Caturra, Pache, Bourbon and Catimor, cultivated in the Region of Chirinos, San Ignacio. being located in the north of Peru close to the border with Ecuador, the predominant landscape is mountainous with a contrast of dry areas and wild vegetation. This topography creates diverse climates ranging from warm (23°c) to cold (12°c) and páramo (andean moor, 8°c). The Tabaconas - Namballe sanctuary is part of the territory natural richness, which nourishes the soils of the region making them more productive and ideal for the development of coffee.

Origin Coffee Lab, from which this coffee was sourced, is a relatively new company based in Jaen and San Ignacio in the North of Peru, led by a team of four coffee veterans who believe that identifying the very best lots of coffee, separating them, and processing them meticulously is the best way to ensure good prices for the farmers they work with.

Origin Coffee Lab had built a warehouse in the busy coffee capital of Jaen with an impressive lab where its team cups every bag of incoming coffee to weed out the defects that are often caused by the region’s wet weather. The mist and sudden rains that often fall there during the drying process can lead to defects that compromise quality. Origin coffee does the hard work of relentless tasting and sorting needed to remove these from the mix and offer a steady supply of clean and sweet coffees.

But the company isn’t all about coffee. Since the 2017 it had also started an ambitious public health project in the area, where clinics are sparse and access to health services is limited and where the kinds of basic check-ups we take for granted can be profound.

From the lab, it is a two-hour climb up serpentine Andean roads to Rumipite in La Coipa. It is the home of many awesome producers,
owners of beautiful land where they grow coffee. Most of the farmers are neighbors whose farms lie next to one another’s, and in the ancient Andean tradition of the minga, they share the labor needed to bring their beautiful coffees to market. When one pulls up at Flor de Selva, they are greeted warmly by the Padilla Family and then it's time to hike to the farms and see the drying facilities. Traditionally, the main crops of the area were sugar cane. however, during the last two decades, farmers of the region decided to replace their traditional crops for coffee plantations seeking better living conditions for their families, as it has a bigger market and better prices.

Currently, almost 40% of farmers have been able to increase their income due to coffee planting. Gradually, the production of coffee of San Ignacio has increased and becomes one of the most productive areas in the country, producing 800,000 bags of the 4 million that Peru produces. This increase has benefited hundreds of families, each made up of approximately 6 members. Coffee growers of this area own small farms that do not exceed 2 hectares. This small scale production allows producers to have greater control of their plantations and post-harvest processes. The ability to control every step of the process added to the favorable environmental factors of the region (altitude, fertile soils, variety of climates and young coffee trees) have a positive impact on the coffee quality. For all of the above, this Region is considered to have an immense potential to become one of the best areas for specialty coffee production.

Tasting notes: Chocolatey and balanced with nuances of raspberry, cranberry, and lime.