Elmer Cruz Guerrero – La Naranja (La Coipa – El Bosque)
Nearly every year, Mercanta sends a member of the team to Peru to select the best lots of new crops to add to our offerings. Unfortunately, this year, due to COVID-19, this was not possible. Our partner in the region, Alpes Andinos, faced untold pressures at exporting their lots last year, but have recovered to offer some truly marvellous coffees. This year, the lots have revealed the hard work and quality from each producer. Thanks to the guidance from Alpes Andinos and the team, we are able to offer special coffees like this one.
Through extensive cupping, Elmer Cruz‘s farm El Bosque has been singled out as one of the top lots from the region this year. Elmer’s farm is located in La Copia, around 20km from the association’s headquarters in Jaen; high in Peru’s Cajamarca department. Unlike many farmers in the region who grew up in coffee-producing families, Elmer only turned his hand to coffee in 2010, when he purchased his first farm plot. Elmer named his farm El Bosque (translating as ‘The Forest’) in reference to the mature native trees found on the farm. Like many other farms in the region, the name is symbolic, reflecting the distinguishing characteristics in the surrounding area. Coffee production is currently Elmer’s only means of income, with any fruit trees or other produce grown reserved only for personal consumption.
- Farm Elmer Cruz Guerrero - La Naranja (La Coipa - El Bosque)
- Varietal Red Caturra & Yellow Bourbon
- Process Fully washed
- Altitude 1,800 - 1850 metres above sea level
- Town / City La Naranja, La Coipa
- Region Cajamarca
- Owner Elmer Cruz Guerrero
- Tasting Notes Floral, tangerine, bright
- Farm Size 12 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.