Wormhole Coffee Log: Peru

Next up in our focus series on coffee-producing nations is Peru, a country rich in culture and landscape, and home to over 110,000 coffee farmers. Coffee production rose by 19% in Peru in 2011, and it remains the country’s top agricultural export, valued at $571 million in an annual report by the USDA. Peru, for those who flunked geography, is home to a generous chunk of the Andes mountains, the longest mountain range in the world spanning across South America. The geography of Peru would seem to make it a perfect fit for coffee growing, both in terms of climate and elevation, and in many ways this is true. However, as we’ll see, Peru is actually somewhat of a newcomer on the coffee scene, with several pressing issues that make coffee from this Southern nation still a wild card in the specialty world.

Peruvian Coffee Flavor Profile

Good Peruvian coffee has many of the delicate high notes of quality Central Americans, due to the high elevation and cooler climate of the Andes, while still retaining a firmly South American profile overall. Their comparatively primitive processing methods frequently make for earthier, even baggy characteristics in the cup, although with better lots this quality can be pleasant and not detracting. Herbal and floral notes dominate in many Perus, with a medium to light body. Processing in Peru, as everywhere, contributes to its unique regional flavor. Many processing facilities consists of small, simple wet mills, many operated by hand. The coffee is then fermented for up to a day in wooden tanks, with these tanks adding their own particular flavor to the beans themselves (for better or worse). Post-fermentation, the coffees are sun-dried with the parchment on, after which they are taken to market and eventually sold to an exporter who will finish the processing at a dry mill, where the parchment is removed and the coffee is prepared for export.

Coffee is grown throughout the eastern slopes of the Andes, but is primarily concentrated, in terms of both volume and quality, in the areas of Chuchanmayo, Cusco, and the northern Andes region. 75% of the coffee is grown at high altitudes, between 1000 and 1800 meters above sea level. This is great for quality, as higher altitudes typically produce harder beans with more complex flavors, but can be difficult in terms of accessibility. Most coffee growers in Peru are smallholder farmers, many of whom speak native languages in remote areas of the mountains, working between 2-3 hectares of land. Many of these smallholders are grouped into cooperatives of hundreds or even often thousands of producers who share processing facilities. These co-ops, like co-ops around the world, assist the farmers by providing services such as access to buyers, grower education, and labor.

Unique Challenges: Will They Be Met?

Out of Peru’s 110,000 coffee farmers, 33,000 are certified organic. Like Mexico, which Peru closely follows as the top two producing nations for organic coffee in the world, many small scale farmers were already practicing a ‘passive organic’ method for decades prior to outside certification. Unable to afford chemical fertilizers or insecticides, and already employing traditional farming methods such as crop rotation and providing shade trees, many of these farmers were only a small step away from certification.  However, like much of the organic movement, the jump to producing organic coffee did not include an increased awareness of quality. This is partly due to the fact that much of the processing in Peru is done using hand-powered washers and wooden tools, which often remove too much or too little of the fruit of the coffee cherry, leaving them vulnerable to fermentation and rot.

Some unique challenges facing Peruvian coffee growers include low yields and an increasing threat from global warming. Low yields are often the result of a lack of fertilization and the planting of low-yielding varietals. The level of poverty and lack of access to small loans makes buying fertilizer, be it organic or commercial, nearly impossible for many small farmers. Adding to the problem, 70% of coffee grown in Peru is of the Typica varietal, which, although renowned for its high quality, is one of the lowest producing trees in terms of volume. But with the extremely high cost of replanting, most small farmers continue to grow trees that are 20-30 years old.

Peru is rated one of the top three countries in the world to be affected by climate change, a fact which the average coffee farmer is already acutely aware of. Last year the eastern slopes of the Andes saw too little rain – this year, there has been 500% of the annual average in some areas. These droughts and deluges make predicting the harvest nearly impossible, and in a country where small-scale loans are practically non-existent, these sort of ups and downs can quickly lead to disaster. The country’s second largest agricultural export, coca, has benefited from this instability and Peru now ranks amongst the largest producers of this illicit cash crop. Efforts to tackle the encroaching threat of climate change have been small and slow, with many of the major coffee importers failing to address the issue altogether. It is estimated that the effects of climate change will lead to a global coffee shortage in the next decade unless immediate, cross-lateral action is taken. With specialty coffees comprising over 30% of Peru’s coffee exports, it is likely that even niche markets will feel the effects of this issue in the near future.

The Finish

The Wormhole has featured many excellent Peruvian coffees in its 2.3 years of life, including the Peru Balcones from Metropolis Coffee Company, which is currently in rotation. The sweet herbal flavour and light body of this coffee are typical of Peru, making this coffee a great introduction to the region. Come in soon and try some before this coffee disappears! Or, umm, goes out of season…

Sources:

Nolte, Gaspar. United States, Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agriculture Service. Peru Coffee Annual. Global Agriculture Information Network, May 2010. Link here.

“History of Coffee in Peru” Equal Exchange. n.p. Web. n.d. Link here.

Olsen, Peter. United States, Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agriculture Service. Peru Organic Products Update. Global Agriculture Information Network, May 2008. Link here.

“Peru Expanding Role as Specialty Coffee Leader” Stuff. n.p. Reuters, Aug. 2008. Link here.

Siegle, Lucy. “Peru’s Coffee Farmers Turn to Carbon Traders to Save their Farms from Climate Change” The Observer. The Guardian, May 2012. Web. Link here.