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Peru (PL) – El Lechero by Idelo Ulises Nayra Armijos

I samarbeid med Nordic Approach

Lot #: PE-2019-029

Ulises is a young grower in San Ignazio, northern Peru. When we visited him this summer there was no doubt that he’s got attention to details and is quality oriented. And his small farm at 2,5 hectares is so well organized. He also got 12th place in the Cup of Excellence this year. The farm, Finca El Lechero is located at 1870 masl close to the village of El Huabo. Even if he mainly grows Caturra and are doing lot separation he has about 20% Catuai on his farm that will normally be mixed during harvest. The farm has a small beneficio where he pulps and ferment the coffee. The coffee is dry fermented for about 24 hours before washed and rinsed, and then dried in a parabolic dryer by his house and on the roof of the house. He is also using shade nets for a more controlled drying process. Under normal conditions the drying takes about 15-20 days.

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General information Variety: Catuai, Caturra
Processing: Washed
Crop year: 2019
Sensorial information Variety: Cupping score: 87,5
Cherry | Floral | Funk | Hibiscus | Rose Hips
Arrival sample cupped January 6th 2020:
Layered and floral, with tasting notes of hibiscus, rose hip, and cherries.
Great mouthfeel, structured and sugary.
Very geisha-like (light tea-like, floral complexity).

Origin: El Lechero by Idelo Ulises Nayra Armijos

El Lechero

Idelo Ulises Nayra Armijos (who goes by Ulises) and hi’s wife Victoria Ramos Llaczahuanga, and their two children Oliver and Felix live at the farm. He took over the farm, El Lechero in 2010. It is situated close to the village El Huabo in San Ignazio, North in Peru.

They have 2,5 hectares planted with coffee. The main variety is Caturra (80%) and they have some Catuai (20%). Their harvesting period goes from May – October, peaking around August. They also grow plantains, corn and beans for own consumption. About 30% of the family’s income comes from coffee. They employ 10 pickers at the most who are on average paid 25 soles + lunch per day.

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Ulises is a third generation coffee farmer. He says he grows coffee because ‘It is what my parents taught me and it is a product that helps support the family’. He is proud of his family and his work. He wants to improve quality, and plant more varieties of coffee. He hopes to support his children to be able to study, and to buy more land.

The Project
This coffee is part of a sourcing program through an organization called Origin Coffee Lab. The coffees are either micro lots or communal producer blends from the areas in the north around Jaen and San Ignacio. The farms are normally between 1-3 hectares and are family runned. They harvest, pulp, ferment and dry the coffees at the farms. If the producers are part of a premium program, like ours, they will more likely invest in their production and sit on enough parchment to create potential micro lots.

So far most of our coffees are coming from small caserios (villages) in La Coipa, Colossay, San Ignacio and a few other places. These are all places that we have identified with great potential through selective cupping. We also know that our exporting partner is investing in the producer relations there with support on quality protocols, trace ability programs and premiums.

The concept for us is the same across the communities where we source. We select micro lots of the coffees that are high performing at lot sizes between 10 – 20 bags. And we try to buy producer blends from the same areas as much as we can. The program is based on good premiums paid to the producers across all our coffees. To invest in the communities is crucial to get a consistent supply and to give the farmers incentives to invest.

At the farms
A typical farmer within this programs will have 2 hectares, planted with coffee. They are mainly organic, and many are certified. The varieties will often be mixed, but they mainly have local Bourbons, Caturra, Catuai, some typica.

The farmers help each other in the harvesting season. They have something called “Mingas” that means today for you, tomorrow for me.

After harvesting they will pulp and ferment the coffees in their micro mills at the farms. It’s normally a small pulper and a wooden or concrete fermentation tank. Some do dry fermentation and others do wet fermentation.

The equipment can be extremely simple, but coffees can still be amazing. Some have their own parabolic dryers, others dry on plastic outside their farms, or use a drying facility at their neighbor or relatives place. It sounds rough, but truth is that we have seen amazing coffees, well dried on plastic just outside their front door.

In general

  • Average farm size: Less than 2 hectares
  • Harvesting season: May – October
  • Process: Almost only washed processed at the farms in tiny micro mills
  • Fermentation: Mainly dry fermented in small wood or concrete tanks. Some are doing wet fermentation.
  • Drying: On plastic on the ground, rooftops, parabolic dryers etc. A few are using tables/african beds.
  • Altitudes: Mainly 1600 – 2000 masl
  • Varieties: Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Pache, Costa Rica, Catimor. Recently good amounts of Geisha planted
  • They measure picking in “Lata” (buckets) 1 lata is 13,5 kg cherry
    20 lata is 1 quintal of greens (46 kg) but is counted in parchment quintal. In this case they count 55 kg of parchment
  • They measure in hectares, but do also use the name cuadra or manzanas.
  • Normal yield on average farms is about 15-18 Quintales greens per hectares. The really well managed farms can easily double the volumes per hectare.

What you need to know about the price data

Farmer delivers: Parchment

Unit of Measurement: Quintal (55.2kg of parchment)

Currency: Sol (PEN)

Average cost of production: 320 – 400 PEN/quintal*

If the coffee meets our quality standards on humidity and has a minimum score of 85, we pay a base price of 500-600 PEN per quintal. The price depends on the program and commitment of the producer.

If the coffee cups above 87, and there is sufficient volume for a micro-lot, we pay an additional 100-150 PEN per quintal after the coffee has been contracted and exported.

*Source: Origin Coffee Lab, Eleva Finca

Founded 2010
Altitude 1870
Origin type Farm
Farm size 2.5 ha