Clara Cespedes
This lot comes from our exporting partner in Peru, Café Orígenes, who work closely with Cooperativa Agraria Orígenes del Valle de Lacco. This coffee was grown in the Lacco Valley in Cusco by Clara Cespedes. She helped found the cooperative back in 2022 alongside 40 other families from the communities of Mendosayoc, Juihuay, and Umapata. She was elected in the first year to the board of directors, a testament to her strength as a leader and a major departure from the cultural norms of the region. Since then, she has consistently produced high quality coffee, this year being recognized for the first time internationally for her coffee excellence. More than nearly any other farmer, she has invested time and money to take advantage of the nascent coop and establish herself as one the coop’s best farmers. Her Typica is classically delicious, but her investment into Gesha and Pink Borbon will pay dividends in 2026.
- Farm Clara Cespedes
- Varietal Typica
- Process Fully washed
- Altitude 2,035 meters above sea level
- Town / City Mendosayoc
- Region Lacco Valley, Calca, Cusco
- Owner Clara Cespedes and Eloy Huillca
- Tasting Notes Lemongrass, Almond, Sugarcane, Rose Hips
- Farm Size 2 hectares
Coffee was introduced to Peru in the mid-18th century via neighbouring Ecuador but was not commercially exported until the late 19th century. Production was only increased significantly after the turn of the 20th century, when Peru’s default on a loan owed to the British Government saw over two million hectares of land transferred to Britain (under the name of ‘The Peruvian Country’) as a repayment. A full quarter of this was put under agricultural production, including coffee, and it was at this point that export trade began in earnest.