La Coipa

We are very excited to share this first Peru of the year with you, as it is one of our favorite origins.

La Coipa is a community lot from San Ignacio in the north of Peru. It is a blend of day lots made up of Bourbon and Catuai from several farmers in the area. This lot stood out for its cleanliness while being slightly fruity. The cup reminds us of blackberries and lemon verbena with an underlying caramel like texture and sweetness.

Peru is historically an underrated country in specialty coffee. This reputation and its accompanying price discount are the results of supply chains focused on large volumes based on aggregated quality, built to serve roasters seeking value over remarkable coffee. This happens at the expense of Peruvian farmers who don’t reap the rewards of higher income through improved quality. Peru has the ideal topography and climate for producing high quality Arabica coffee. Falcon identified the problem as post-harvest processing.

Falcon realised that if they provided training that demanded attention to detail, they would need to offer the financial incentive to reward those farmers who made the effort. In 2018 they established Falcon Coffees Peru and have grouped together 275 producers. When they bring their coffees to the warehouse they receive a cup score and an offer price immediately, which they can accept or refuse. In 2019 and 2020, on average Falcon paid double the commercial rate for parchment.