El Laurel

Peru has the potential to produce high-quality specialty coffee. However, in most cases, cooperatives still produce low-priced, bulk lots with no traceability, giving no chance for an outstanding small lot to shine through. Our importer aims to find smaller producer groups where selective processing and traceability can be solved, either for a single farmer or a smaller group. Florentino Jimenez Carrasco runs a 1.5-hectare farm lying at an elevation of 1600-1700 metres above sea level, near the village of Caserío Torre de Bavel in Cajamarca. Florentino grows strictly Gesha variety and processes his coffee on the spot. The wet process at El Laurel starts with de-pulping, followed by wet fermentation in ceramic tile-covered tanks, then washing and rinsing, and then sun-drying on solar dryers. Drying takes about 10-20 days on average depending on the weather conditions.