Peru Segundo Vasquez Natural

Segundo Estela Vasquez is the owner of two hectares of land in the San Francisco village of the Huabal district. The farm is planted at a density of 3,500 trees per hectare and is mostly planted with Castillo, along with some older Bourbon and Typica. Segundo picks and processes the coffee himself, with help from some family members. He mostly produces washed coffee, which he ferments for 24 hours before moving it to raised beds and drying it for around 7 to 10 days. However, this year Segundo started producing naturals towards the end of the harvest, when the weather was more consistent.

 This lot was dried on raised beds for 35 days and covered during peak sunlight hours.

Huabal

Huabal is a district within the Jaén province of Cajamarca and is one of our strongest areas for membership and quality. Huabal has huge potential for quality coffee, but due to very poor infrastructure many producers lack the resources and knowledge needed to realise that potential. Altitudes in the area range from 1,200 to 2,100 masl, but most of the producers we work with are above 1,800 masl.

Many producers in Huabal had been regenerating their farms with Catimores, promoted by the government and multinational buyers. In certain altitude ranges these have given good results and, with good management, can produce decent cup quality — but in the higher altitudes they rarely produce much, and the quality is poor. Now, with the premiums they are receiving for quality, more and more producers are replanting Caturra, Bourbon and Catuai which, with proper management and fertilisation, can yield more and produce much better-quality coffee.

Huabal is made up of various villages, which are centres of coffee production, and each producer belongs to a village. Since Huabal spans a couple of mountains, the climate and soils vary considerably — some areas are wet and humid with red, African-like soils, while others are dry and hot. This all contributes to diverse and delicious cup profiles, including some very complex coffees.