TASTING NOTES

Coffee tasting notes for San Miguel, Peru: stone fruit, apple, white tea, nutty

SAN MIGUEL, PERU COFFEE BACKGROUND

This coffee comes from Origin Coffee Labs, our exporter partner in Peru for the last 4 years. Cupping for quality and taste profile leads the way in all that Origin does. Their work in Peru focuses on sustainability and building relationships — work that Blueprint is excited to support. 

This coffee is from a group of farmers from the town of Jaén in the Cajamarca region of Peru. San Miguel is what Origin calls a comité — a group of neighbors whose coffees share varietals, processing methods, and taste profiles. Forming these groups helps producers connect and bring their coffees to the specialty market when it may be difficult to do so alone. Farmers with very small plots or who grow other crops on their land may not produce enough coffee for a full lot. Also, with poor infrastructure and lack of transportation, some farmers face challenges getting their coffees to a purchasing station. Joining their neighbors in a comité helps all members of the group to thrive.

Our green buyer Cher was excited to visit Peru last year to meet with producers and visit Origin’s cupping lab. She observed mutually beneficial partnerships between Origin and producers. Origin evaluates each delivered lot to assess its cup quality and flavor profile.  Buyers share tasting notes, scores, and notes about milling loss with farmers, and then make an offer for the lot, which the farmer usually accepts. Origin strives for a 2-hour turnaround for this entire process. Farmers are paid above market rate for their coffees, and when the cup quality increases, Origin Coffee Lab also increases its price premium which incentivizes continuous improvement.

We are excited to offer this lovely washed process coffee which is the fruit of mutually beneficial collaboration. Expect a nutty, sweet, smooth-bodied brew with notes of stone fruit, apple, and white tea.