Richard Loayza, Peru

Peru shines in South America's specialty coffee industry with over 10 major growing regions all within proximity to the Andes mountains, yet each delivers unique cup profiles distinct to their terroir. Together with our Peruvian lot from Lucero Anayeli Torres, we've sourced an impressive coffee by Don Richard Navarro Loayza from Santo Tomas in Cutervo, Cajamarca. This region is one of thirteen provinces in Cajamarca and approximately 5 hours' drive from Falcon Coffee's warehouse and quality control lab in Jaen.

In 2018, Falcon Coffees establishedtheir warehouse in Jaen, where farmers can have their parchment coffee analyzed for quality and even taste their coffees for the first time. They receive immediate cup scores and price offers, which they can accept or refuse. Through these facilities, they consistently make remarkable coffees accessible to the international market year after year.

Don Richard Navarro Loayza, a coffee producer and entrepreneur, has been cultivating coffee for nearly 20 years. This coffee comes from his San Jose farm situated at 1850 MASL, a plot of land he purchased back in 2005. 

This 5-hectare plot is one part agroforestry and four parts coffee trees, comprising an impressive range of varieties such as Caturra, Catimor, Bourbon, Pache, Catuai, and Pacamara. After harvest, Richard Loayza rests his coffee cherries under shade for two days, pulps and ferments them in an anaerobic environment for an average of 36-40 hours (depending on the climate), and then proceeds with the regular washed process before drying the coffee on patios to the ideal moisture content. The final product is then delivered to the Falcon Coffee warehouse.

Falcon Coffee, in collaboration with students from the University of Brighton, have embarked on the ‘Coffee Carbon Project’. This initiative aims to better understand and measure the carbon footprint of coffee trees from various producing regions. Peru has been the best candidate for piloting this initiative for the past 5 years, thanks to the strong producer relationships on the ground. By incorporating healthier farm management practices and agroforestry, producers work to reduce the carbon emissions at various stages of the coffee's journey and improve the overall quality of their crops.