Introducing the newest in our Single Origin Filter Roast line up - Peru Jose Angel Microlot.
Jose Angel's farm is located in Cajamarca, one of the three main regions where coffee is grown in Peru. The coffees are all harvested and processed by hand, Jose's farm sits at 1800 m.a.s.l making this a dangerous and arduous task.
It's interesting that coffee culture in Peru is not as prevalent compared to other coffee producing countries. When coffee first showed up in Peru, it was exclusively grown for local consumption until the 1800s when the coffee rust epidemic decimated the fields in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, leading western coffee drinkers to find alternative sources. Peru became a booming industry for coffee until the farms and finances were abandoned when the British Company left after WWII. Eventually, the government engaged in land reform and encouraged coffee cultivation resulting in smallholder and indigenous farms now responsible for producing most of the country's coffee today.
The Fair Trade movement in Peru started just before 2003 and with fair pay for the quality of coffee, many producers are focusing on organic or specialty lots. Coffee production in Peru is still a relatively small scale, as most of the farms come in just under 3 hectares.
Today, Peru is one of the leading coffee producing countries in the world. Most of the crop is exported with the average Peruvian consuming less than 1kg of coffee per year.