Damian Espinoza Garcia’s farm, Finca La Palma, is located in Alto Pirias, in the Chirinos District of Cajamarca in north-west Peru. The farm occupies 6 hectares, 2.5 of which are secondary forest. On the other 3.5 he grows mostly caturra, but also castillo, catuai and some other varieties. Damian competed in Peru’s 2018 Cup of Excellence and placed 2nd with a washed yellow caturra. We are delighted to have secured another delicious lot of washed yellow caturra from Damian.
In the cup it has a soft, velvety mouthfeel, with notes of white chocolate, chamomile and vanilla.
Damian is one of a number of beneficiaries of an in initiative by our importing partner, Falcon, to improve quality, access to market, support, and remuneration of producers in the region. More typically, producers have had to sell their coffee to local aggregators for a cheap price. These aggregators mix the coffee they purchase from the various producers together, regardless of quality, before selling it on, either directly to an exporter, or, as is more often the case, to other traders and middlemen. This model remunerates the producers poorly, and provides them with very little incentive to invest in improving the quality of their coffee.
For these reasons, Falcon decided to set up a warehouse in nearby Jaen, and to buy directly from the producers. This has allowed them to control and improve upon existing quality, and to have full financial traceability. You can see how much Damian was paid for his coffee here, and the subsequent chain of costs all the way to ourselves.
This shift in approach will allow Falcon to forge long-term relationships directly with farmers, to improve the coffee quality they can offer from these areas, and to increase producer household income through access to quality based premiums. Falcon now has over 438 registered farmers across the San Ignacio and Jaen provinces, and we look forward to sharing coffees from more of these producers with you over the months and years to come.
