December 12

Good things come to those who wait. That’s exactly the story behind our relationship with Meebz Coffee Roasters. Our first collaboration with Meebz was more than 12 months in the making, but for good reason. It all came together in the form of feature #15 in February 2020, with another inspirational story thanks to Cofinet.

Today we introduce a coffee from a new (to New Zealand) coffee importer. We’ve featured coffee from Yellow Rooster Coffee Imports previously and its exciting to be able to access new supply chains with the help of trusted roasters such as Meebz Coffee Roasters, this time with a coffee from Peru.

Río Mapacho Cuzco, Perú

(Words by Yellow Rooster Coffee Imports) Association of Coffee Producers from Valle Río Mapacho Created in December of 2018, inscribed in SUNARP with Electronic number 11216070 with the denomination: Asociación de Productores y Acopiadores de Café del Valle de Mapacho y el Manu – Estado Vigente, RUC 20603943571. In this region 70% of the producers speak their original language, Quechua, and do not speak or understand Castellano (Spanish). They maintain the tradition of the Minka, which is a pre hispanic practice of mutual help where the community works together for the greater good. They practice the Ayni, which is the belief in the duality and balance of all things and continue their traditional dances and ancestral Inca customs - This can be seen every 24th of June when they celebrate the fiesta of the sun. Producers also cultivate maiz, avocado, yuca, potato and the raising of animals such as chickens and guinea pigs. These communities have been producing coffee since 1950. At the begining they started as “peones”, which means to work and live on the land of a wealthy land owner, a very common practice creating a vicious cycle of poverty that many were forced into when the spanish colonized America. Many producers migrated to the mountains of the provinces Sicuani, Acomayo, Pitumarca and Lares. Up until the year 2012, due to the landscape, producers would take the coffee on mules, walking 18 hours to the province of Amparaes, where they would sell the coffee to local businesses. Thankfully the main highways now connect to the communities helping the Association to sell their coffee to overseas buyers. Currently with the support of NGO’s, projects of Manu Reserve (buffer zone of the Manu National Park), the municipalities and the advice from professionals, the Association applies sustainable and ecological principals. As they are in a zone that is protected by the State, the producers protect the biodiversity of the area, including the spectacled bear and Andean puma. They protect primary forests, the water, the soil and with the help of specialists in organic production, they have good harvesting practices; hand selecting only the ripe cherries, correct fermenting processes, clean washing processes and careful drying and storing. Thanks to all of this hard and diligent work, the producers of Río Mapacho have succeeded in producing a high cup quality to share with the world.

Micro region: Province of Paucartambo,

District of Challabamba, part of the biosphere of the Manu Reserve (buffer zone of the Manu National Park).

Growers: 72 coffee producing families located in the Otocani, Televan and Solan communities. Type of production: Application of ecological principales for sustainable agriculture.

Organic production, high altitude specialty coffee.

Variety: Typica 80%, Caturra 10%, Catimor 10%

Process: Washed

Elevation: 1800 to 2300 masl.

Cultivated area: 120 Has approx.

Soil type: Loamy / Sandy

Annual rainfall (mm): 1630 – 1720 mm

Harvest: July – December

Certification: Organic

Traceable to: Asociación de Productores de Café del Valle Río Mapacho

Exported by: Alpes Andinos

Grab yourself a bag here.

Photo Credit: Yellow Rooster Coffee Imports.