Chris Eilers of Dunn Bros Coffee recently experienced the developing culture of exceptional coffee growing in Peru. This is his account and video of his travels there:
Peru is not only a land where one can explore a rich landscape filled with countless Inca ruins including the wonderfully mysterious ancient city of Machu Picchu, it is also home to one of the best coffee growing regions in all of South America. And the culture of producing exceptional coffees is very much alive and picking up steam. More roasters and buyers of these higher-end lots begin spending more time in origin developing relationship and educating farmers on the benefits of producing these fine coffees.
In August, I was lucky enough to travel to Peru with a group of roasters and coffee buyers from many respectable companies including Coffee Bean International, Counter Culture Coffee, Sacred Grounds, and Cuvee. In addition to meeting with several hard working farmers and exchanging ideas on how to improve coffee quality (and thereby help them receive higher prices) we spent most of our time learning about a “direct trade” coffee buying model that has proven to be an outstanding way to insure the small farmers associated with this program received the highest possible prices for their coffee through a 100% transparent contract.
This model was developed by our host, K.C. O’Keefe. K.C. is an American who spends several months throughout the year in Peru. Interestingly enough, K.C. also opened a beautiful coffee shop in Lima called Café Verde where he also has a five kilo coffee roaster just like you would see in one of our stores. K.C. was excited and impressed to learn about Dunn Bros and our on-site roasting model. He too is a big proponent of roasting fresh coffee in the store. One big difference though is that his selection of coffees is limited to those grown in Peru. As is typical in many coffee producing countries, importing coffee from other countries is not encouraged and therefore heavily taxed. K.C. overcomes this challenge by creating blends and offering different varietals from different growing regions with in Peru. The micro-climates and growing conditions of each region create specific taste nuances to those respective coffees. This is why we are careful to highlight the growing regions from which all of our coffees (no matter what country) are from.
The “direct trade” model developed by K.C. was exciting to learn about. Unlike Fair Trade certified coffees, the transparency contract used in his model identifies the exact payment the farmer will receive. All the parties associated with the buying transaction from the farmer to the roaster are identified on and they actually sign the contract. Just as important, all the coffees are graded via “Q” cupping standards so the farmers know what the quality standard is that they are expected to deliver and the roaster has assurances that they will receive the quality of coffee they contracted for. K.C. has developed a very thorough process to make sure all the parties are having their expectations met. The beauty of this model is that it encourages the production of high quality coffee by rewarding the producers directly for their efforts. Furthermore, contracts between the farmers and the roasters are typically three years which creates the likelihood of a strong and more sustainable relationship between the two.
Over the coming months, Dunn Bros will be learning more about this model and we are hopeful that we will be able to bring you some of these wonderful Peruvian coffees very soon.
-Chris