Peru - Familia Mendoza

ABOUT THE FARM

At El Mirante, passing knowledge from one generation to the next is part of everyday life. The elders teach the younger ones, both in the field and at the mill, and the next generation is already responsible for key steps in growing and processing. Working side by side, they refine their routines and keep up the quality and care year after year.

El Mirante is a small farm, even by Peruvian standards, at just 3 hectares. Its size forces the Mendoza family to farm rigorously to make their coffee profitable. Their practices are organic by default, and the coffee grows in the shade of native trees, which protects biodiversity.

The family hand-picks only ripe red cherries and processes them on the farm. The coffee is pulped and fermented, and the cool altitude naturally slows the fermentation down. The parchment is then washed with clean water and moved to shaded raised beds, where it is turned often so the air circulates evenly and the moisture drops steadily. Drying takes about 20 days.