San Ignacio, the home of Miguel Ramirez and his farm, Finca El Romerillo, is a hotbed of activity in Peru’s burgeoning coffee industry. Located far up in the country’s northern Andes mountains, the region’s high altitudes, healthy soils, and cooler temperatures all support production of the highest caliber of quality. Miguel is an active member of Prosperidad de Chirinos, a 54-year-old farmers cooperative whose focus is supporting farmers to produce specialty coffee with traceable provenance, using organic methods.

In recent years, Chirinos has employed many forward-thinking practices in order to improve both the cup quality and the soil health of their farmer members. For example, current members only use organic fertilizers made from an elaborate compost system which mixes and dries several types of materials to exact levels of nutritional inputs. Set up with the help of a technical team from Colombia, the fertilizer is critical to keeping sensitive trees heathly and preventing disease – a fundamental challenge when producing organic coffee.

This coffee was processed and dried on-farm using the washed method, whereby coffee cherries are depulped and fermented in order to remove their fruit before being ‘washed’ clean and laid to dry. With a medium-heavy body and lots of brown sugar sweetness, this coffee is a crowd-pleaser which shines great on any brewing method.