Feature Espresso: Maribel Herrera (Natural) | Perú

Key origin info:

Producer: Maribel Herrera Torres
Processing: by Maribel

Region: Huabal, Cajamarca
Altitude: 1650 - 1700 masl

Varietals: Caturra & Catuaí
Process: Natural

Exporter: Falcon Coffees | Importer: Falcon Speciality

Cup profile: Jammy body, papaya & brown sugar

More about Maribel:

Maribel Herrera Torres is a producer from the village of San Antonio in the Huabal district within Jaen province in Cajamarca. She owns a 2 hectare plot of land that is planted with Caturra & Catuaí varieties. Having produced mostly washed coffees with some naturals in the past, after seeing the potential for cup quality of natural processed coffees Maribel has decided to process all of her coffee this way this year. Maribel and her family pick the ripe cherries and then thoroughly wash them before placing them on lined patios to dry for 25 days.

Background on Peru and Por El Cambio project:

POR EL CAMBIO means FOR CHANGE. The project has been established in Cajamarca, Northern Peru by our importing partner Falcon Coffees in 2019.

As Falcon explain:

In Peru, like some other origins, coffee farmers are sensitive to market changes and often lack basic training and the incentive to produce higher qualities of coffee, as premiums often don’t materialise. For these reasons we decided we needed to change the way we buy coffee in Peru and work directly with producers, allowing us to control and improve upon existing quality and have full financial traceability. Ensuring these two factors would help us to pay higher prices for the coffees and to make sure that producers received a fair price for the coffee they delivered us, above the market price. In order to do this, we set up a warehouse in Jaen and started to buy in parchment directly from producers.

The vision was to work directly with small producers who aren't associated with or able to sell their coffee through local cooperatives. They represent 75% of producers in Northern Peru and are usually based in remote areas with little or no access to training and price premiums adequate to the quality of coffee they are able to produce. This can leave their income often dependant on local aggregators who buy their coffee at farm for cash before selling it on which results in the producers being paid very little and the potential and quality of their coffee being lost.

Falcon's team on the ground in Peru, headed up by Simon Brown, have now established relationships with over 300 small producers who bring their coffee in parchment directly to their warehouse where individual lots are graded, yield calculated and assessed for quality. Producers are then paid on the same day according to a transparent system (based on cup score and yield) and receive premiums well above the local market price. Aside from gaining access to a fair market, producers are also able to receive training on farm management, good harvest and processing practices.