Episode 443 on Monday the 8th of May, 2017. Peru La Flor del Cafe Washed

Coffee came to Peru in the mid 1700s and was most likely introduced by Dutch immigrants. The Dutch brought the Typica variety which still dominates especially amongst the older farms and micro-farms. The first coffee plantings were in Chinchao, Huanuco in Selva Central and disseminated from there to the Northern (Cajamarca) and Southern (Cusco and Puno) regions of the country. Peru had its first coffee shop in 1771 in Lima and started exporting coffee in 1887.

Peru is a country which has great potential but for particular reasons it is extremely hard to find 87+ coffee landed in consuming countries. The potential is there: the country is the 8th largest producer of coffee in the world, has plenty of farms at and above 1600 and 1800 meters, and has predominantly Typica and Bourbon varieties.

But sadly this is not the case, high-end coffee out of Peru is very scarce due to the challenges they face. Most farmers own a couple of hectares only and are in remote areas. Many times their farms are 4 hours by foot from the nearest town and the town could be 8 hours by truck from the nearest port. This means coffee can sit at the farm unnecessarily for extended periods of time after it is dried. During the drying season climate conditions tend to be very humid with precipitation. Without proper storage, such as GrainPro, coffee will gain moisture and destabilize cup-quality

But this is (of course) not the case here, deliciousness! This coffee comes from the San José de Lourdes district in the Cajamarca region of Peru. The capital city of Cajamarca is Cajamarca (love it when that happens) and sits in Peru's northern highlands, in the Andes Mountains.

La Flor del Cafe is 1 of 3 farms owned by Apolinar Arevalo where he grows Caturra and Pache at 1,800 metres above sea level.

In the cup dark chocolate is up front riding shotgun with cinder toffee, some Brazil nuts are sat in the back along with their good friend Mr walnut, and there's a little pear as it cools.

• Country: Peru
• Region: Cajamarca
• Province: San Ignacio
• District: San José de Lourdes
• Farm: La Flor del Cafe
• Farmer: Apolinar Arevalo
• Altitude: 1,800 m.a.s.l.
• Varietals: Caturra & Pache
• Processing System: Washed