Cerro Blanco - 300 Smallholders - San Martín, Peru

San Martín sits on the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains and has unique characteristics that sets it apart from the rest of the growing regions of Peru. It sits at an average elevation 1480 meters and has a very tropical climate, which both compare closely to the Amazonas region of Brazil. The region historically grew some cacao and coffee but during the 1980s, the government made a strong push promoting coffee production due to its value and sustainability. Since then, co-ops like Cerro Blanco have made a huge effort growing organic coffees to better serve the ecosystem and worldwide coffee consumption.

Cerro Blanco Producers Association (CBPA) is a coop that was established in 2020 and is situated in the town of Moyobamba. They currently work with 300 farmers whom they have developed close relationships with in order to push for high quality, Fair Trade Organic coffees. Many of the farms that operate in cooperation with CBPA lie between the higher and lower elevations of San Martín and therefore have different microclimates with different necessities required in order to produce naturals. The Peruvian government invested thousands of dollars to provide 72 dryer structures for farmers in CBPA this year in order to assist the group in producing more coffee. In lower elevations, dryer structures are required to dry coffee due to the higher humidity and rainfall.

notes: ripe peach, bakers chocolate, toffee

varietals: bourbon

elevation: 1800m

processing: natural