Peru - Cecovasa - Washed

PERU - CECOVASA - WASHED

COUNTRY

Although coffee arrived in Peru relatively early—in the middle of the 1700s—it wasn’t cultivated for commercial export until nearly the 20th century, with increased demand from Europe and the significant decrease in coffee production in Indonesia. British presence and influence in the country in particular helped increase and drive exports: In the early 1900s, the British government took ownership of roughly 2 million hectares of land from the Peruvian government as payment on a defaulted loan, and much of that land became British-owned coffee plantations. As in many Central and South American countries, as the large European-owned landholdings were sold or redistributed throughout the 20th century, the farms became
smaller and more fragmented, ofering independence to farmers but also limiting their access to resources and a larger commercial market. Unlike many other countries whose coffee economy is dominated by smallholders, however, Peru lacks the organisation or infrastructure to provide economic or technical support to farmers—a hole that outside organisations and certifications have sought to fill. The country has a remarkable number of certified-organic coffees, as well as Fair Trade–, Rainforest Alliance–, and UTZ-certified coffees. Around 30 percent of the country’s smallholders are members of democratic co-ops, which has increased the visibility of coffees from the area, but has done little to bring incredibly high-quality lots into the spotlight. As of the 2010s, Peru is one of the top producers of Arabica coffee, often ranked fifth in world production and export of Arabica. The remoteness of the coffee farms and the incredibly small size of the average farm has prevented much of the single-farm differentiation that has allowed for micro-lot development and marketing in other growing regions, but as with everything else in specialty coffee, this is changing quickly as well. The country’s lush highlands and good heirloom varieties ofer the potential for growers to beat the obstacles of limited infrastructure and market access, and as production increases, we are more likely to see those types of advancements.

THIS COFFEE

Founded in 1970, La Central de Cooperativas Agrarias Cafetaleras de los Valles de Sandi (CECOVASA) saw five co-operatives coming together with the aim of exporting directly as a group rather than selling their coffee individually to mills and local traders. This enabled them to share the costs associated with processing and selling and therefore obtain better prices. They have now grown to be one of the larger small producer organisations in the country, producing multi-award winning coffee from 2005 onwards. Cecovasa consists of 4,564 small producers of Quechua language and Aymara. Eight of the ten co-ops are located in Puno region and two in Cuzco region, located majorly in the southeastern part of the Peruvian Andes mountain range nearby Bahuaja-Sonene National Park. The park contains an abundance of wildlife, fora and fauna. The average farm size is around 2 hectares, and most producers cultivate Caturra and Typica varietals. The extreme altitude of the farms , ranging between 800masl and 2000masl, produces coffees with delicate acidity and an abundance of fruity notes. This coffee is also attached to the Puno Coffee and Conservation Project. With the purchase of this coffee from Cecovasa, our importing partner pays an additional premium on top of any Fairtrade Premiums, which goes towards improving conservation and cofee production in the Puno region.

TASTES LIKE:

Berries, Maple Syrup & Lemon