Rooftop Coffee Roasters Peru, Valle Inca

Tasting Notes:
Raspberry
White Chocolate
Dates

Processing:
Washed

Variety:
Bourbon & Typica

Altitude:
1700m-1900m

Background Info:
While neighbouring Brazil and Colombia got all the attention as the “coffee hubs” of South America, Peru quietly developed a network of quality-driven producers. This lot was grown by producers Martha Liberata Escalate and Ronal Bohorques Ramos, and is a perfect example of the new era of Peruvian coffee. We roasted this to highlight the crisp raspberry sweetness, while balancing it with the creamy white chocolate undertones, with the goal of creating a sweet, well-rounded cup.

Prudencio Vargas Saenz is the founder of Valle Inca and a leader in his hometown of Calca. In the community, Prudencio is known for trustworthiness and a drive to reinvest in the community by paying equitable prices and offering assistance to improve quality. He also brings valuable financial knowledge from his former experience as an agricultural loan officer. We purchased this coffee from Red Fox Coffee Merchants, who have been working with Valle Inca since 2014. Also driven to invest in quality and promote transparency, Red Fox graciously shares their supply chain information. They paid $2.90 USD per quintal (roughly 100kg) for this coffee. For reference, the next highest-paying client pays $1.20 per quintal. (Note these are FOB prices – the price paid in Peru to Valle Inca). Compared to the next highest buyer, this translates to a 60-90% higher price paid to farmers (depending on various factors).

Naturally, this group has grown rapidly as farmers are empowered to improve quality and pursue specialty buyers like Red Fox (and us). It now comprises 101 producers, but Valle Inca is further motivated by the endless mountains where producers are growing coffee but have yet to be brought into the fold. We can’t wait to see what this group does next!