Sol & Cafes Producer Cooperative
We then travelled back to Jean, to the Sol & Cafes cooperative. This is where each farmer delivers his coffee, still in parchment (the dry skin that surrounds each bean) and it is checked for moisture content – a maximum of 12 % is allowed – and each batch is tasted and recorded. These batches are then sent for milling (the process of removing the parchment, grading according to bean size and defect count) at the Norandino mill in Piura. We identified 2 coffees that we liked and are in the process of discussing which we should have for next year’s supply.
Sol & Cafes have done a fantastic job in raising quality levels in this region, they provide expertise, training and technical assistance to members of the cooperative together with the marketing knowledge vital in selling to export markets around the world.
In Piura the Norandino mill is a modern facility that cost $6m 5 years ago. It has a modern cupping and analysis lab with some expert cuppers, we tasted some of the coffees just arrived from the primary cooperatives and they were clean, sweet and lightly acidic – all were excellent.
This was a highly informative visit to Peru, our hosts could not have been more welcoming, the coffee and the conditions in which it is grown were excellent and I look forward to roasting a lot more Grumpy Mule Peruvian coffee in the future.
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