Farm focus: Cajamarca is known for its high altitudes and rich soils, ideal for coffee production. It is here where our coffee broker Mercanta began exporting with their partner in Peru, Alpes Andinos, They maintain many relationships with smallholder producers. One of which is Tomas Bueno Medina, who grows exceptional coffee on his farm, El Níspero. Which we are thrilled to share with our Roaster’s Choice Subscribers.

Tomas has been a member of the association Alpes Andinos since it first began in 2019 and has been the Treasurer since 2022. He bought his first farm, El Níspero when he was just 25 years old. Containing just 1 hectare of Typica and located some 500 meters away, Tomas has been farming the same lot for over a decade, honing his craft and growing the farm to now encompass 2 hectares. More recently, Tomas has inherited a second 2 hectare farm from his grandparents, El Cedro. He has two young children and lives with his wife and parents.

Tomas farms take their names from the trees that surround them. Nispero, being the fruit tree found on the lot and Cedro after the huge cedar trees planted by Tomas’s grandparents to create shade for their coffee. Like many other farms in the region, the name is symbolic, reflecting the distinguishing characteristics in the surrounding area. Although other fruits may be found at Tomas farms, coffee production is currently the only means of income, with any other produce grown reserved only for personal consumption. Tomas however, is also a keen beekeeper! Although this is just a hobby.

Consistent ‘selective’ tee pruning is conducted to maintain the quality of the crop and to increase its yield. Farmers work in 15-year rotations, focusing on each variety individually. When a plant reaches the end of its 15-year life cycle, it will be dramatically cut back using the ‘Zoqueo’ practice. This sees the tree cut back to the stem just 30 centimeters from the ground, stimulating the emergence of new growth. In preparation for this event, trees of the same variety are planted two years in advance, meaning there is an uninterrupted supply of mature cherry. Soil analysis is regularly conducted, with fertiliser applied in May and after the harvest in October and November. For Fertiliser, Tomas uses a mixture of compost and ‘guano de las Islas’, meaning guano from the islands. Located just off the coast of Peru are a collection of small islands, home to large sea bird populations. These birds produce large amounts of excrement or guano, which settles on the ground as a nutrient-rich top layer. Guano is collected on the island and transported to the mainland to be used as a fertiliser.

Tomas’ harvest spans from May to October. Coffee processing techniques in the region are tried and tested methods of production, often passed down through the generations. The process begins with the cherries being selectively handpicked, before being floated in tanks of cool clean water to remove any low-density cherries. The water is drained and the cherries ferment for 48 hours. Next, the coffee is pulped using a machine onsite to remove the external fruit. Once the coffee has been de-pulped, the beans are fermented once more for 96 – 120 hours. The coffee is then washed three times to remove all remaining mucilage, drain any excess water, before finally placing the beans on raised beds to dry. Here, the beans will remain for around 15 – 20 days, depending on the climate. The coffee is bagged and delivered to the Alpes Andinos headquarters in Jaen, typically a three-hour journey.

Coffee in Peru: Coffee is produced almost entirely by smallholder farmers, with the average farm covering less than three hectares. Cooperatives play a vital role by helping farmers access resources, improve processing and reach international markets. While challenges such as limited infrastructure and investment in production remain, Peru’s diverse microclimates and high-altitude growing regions offer exceptional potential for producing distinctive, traceable specialty coffees.

Today, around 223,000 Peruvian families have committed some 425,000 hectares to coffee production and an additional 300,000+ individuals are reliant upon the coffee industry in some way. Production remains centered in the region of Cajamarca in the north of the country, this is where our Roaster’s choice coffee arrives from. This is where half of all the country’s coffee is grown. Other growing regions included, Junin which produces 20-25% of coffee, Cusco which is in the South of the country and attracts many tourists on their way to see the Inca citadel of Machu Pichu and San Martin which is located on the eastern side of the Andes. The typical harvest season for coffee across Peru is between the months of March & September but can last into November.

The History of Peru & Coffee : Reaching the shores of Peru in the mid 1700s the first 100 years of production, all coffee was consumed locally. The first exports to reach England and Germany did not begin until the late 1800s. In the 1900s the Peruvian government defaulted on a loan from the British government and as a consequence found themselves handing over 2 million hectares of land in the central region of Peru as payment. A quarter of this land was used for agricultural purposes to grow crops, one of which being coffee. Migrant workers from across Peru, particularly the Andean highlands, travelled to work on coffee estates. Over time, many settled in the region, with some eventually acquiring land and establishing their own small coffee farms.

After the second world war the British left Peru and many smallholder farms remained. The Peruvian government shifted towards smallholder coffee farmers and during the 1950s and 1960s, the government engaged in land reforms and encouraged coffee cultivation which gave more indigenous farming families the opportunity to grow coffee. During the 1970s, state-supported cooperatives became the backbone of Peru’s coffee industry, exporting around 80% of the country’s coffee under the International Coffee Agreement. While they improved market access for farmers, much of the revenue went to the government, and limited investment in innovation slowed the industry’s development.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, economic reforms, political instability and violence from the Shining Path insurgency severely disrupted Peru’s coffee sector. Many farmers abandoned their land, rural communities declined, and coffee production and trade networks suffered significant setbacks

Since the mid-to-late 1990s. ‘Solidarity’ networks prioritising fairly traded, ecologically friendly coffees fueled a coffee boom in Peru, despite historically low prices. Coffee allocated land grew from 163K hectares in 1995 to 215K hectares in by 2005. Other than Brazil, this makes Peru the only Latin American country to defy production decreases during this period of historically low prices. Large volumes of coffee from Peru are now fair trade certified. From being around 62,000 hectares in the 1960 to over 425,000 hectares today, Peru is now one of the largest producers of coffee in the world and the largest producer of organic-certified Arabica exporting over 4 million 60kg sacks a year.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and explore Peru as a coffee origin, along with the story of El Nispero and its dedicated producer, Tomas Bueno Medina.

We are incredibly humbled to celebrate the sacrifice, hard work, and determination of farmers like Tomas by showcasing their craft and sharing their exceptionally high-quality coffee with you.

We’re truly grateful for your continued support and for choosing to brew our coffee at home. Every cup you enjoy helps us continue our mission of connecting remarkable producers with coffee lovers, while celebrating the passion and dedication that goes into every harvest.