Our newest offering was grown high in the Northern Amazonas Andes of Peru and is sourced from a farmer’s cooperative called the Asociacion de Productores Cafetaleros Juan Marco El Palto, or simply “El Palto”. Cooperatives such as El Palto can be instrumental in supporting coffee farming communities all over the world. In many instances, they advocate for their members by seeking higher prices at market by securing buyers and ensuring that their farmers have a place to mill their product efficiently with little to no waste before export. Oftentimes, coffees grown by smallholders partnered with El Palto are grown in the midst of indigenous rainforest alongside plots of fruits, herbs and vegetables that are grown for personal use. The growing methods employed by these producers are done so with careful stewardship and respect for the land around them. As such, their values align quite well with organic farming practices resulting in a product that was certified to have been organically grown. This rich and biodiverse agricultural system is in stark contrast to methods employed by large farms that often grow coffee as the sole crop and rely heavily on pesticides to keep pests and pathogens at bay. Oftentimes in rural mountain communities such as the Northern Amazonas, coffee farms look much different when compared to other parts of the world, and represent a much more sustainable model for the cultivation of specialty coffee. The El Palto Cooperative has grown substantially since its founding in 2003, with over 189 smallholder partners, where women represent forty percent of the total membership. This is a substantial percentage given the fact that historically leadership in the coffee industry is male dominated, and, while not perfect, the gender parity represented in the El Palto membership is an important step towards a more equitable system in the specialty coffee industry.

This Peruvian natural starts off with an herbaceous note of clove before transitioning into a delicate elderflower and a jammy concord grape finish.