This lot combines coffee from Las Etíopes farm and their neighbouring "outgrowers." Most coffee farmers in the area typically sell to intermediaries (also known as aggregators or "coyotes" in Central America) who purchase coffee in cash at the farmer's door—usually at local market rates—before transporting it to city-based exporters. This year, Las Etíopes has established a small wet mill to process and dry cherries bought from neighbouring farmers. They offer premium payments for quality cherry selection to encourage good picking practices and provide more sustainable prices than intermediaries.

Since farmers in the region traditionally sell dry parchment coffee rather than fresh cherries, some producers continue to process their coffee at home. These producers are carefully selected and monitored to ensure they follow proper processing and drying protocols.

The processing begins with picking, floating, and rinsing the cherries before pulping them into wooden fermentation tanks. These tanks, in use for over 10 years, develop a unique microbial community in the wood when properly maintained. This environment contributes to the coffee's signature profile. The coffee ferments in these vessels for 72 hours, followed by washing and drying on raised beds for 10 to 15 days. Once dried, the coffee is cupped and blended with other lots based on its flavour profile.

We've known Simon Brown for many years and have travelled with him in various producing countries during his time as head of sourcing for a large importer. For the past few years, he's been based in Peru, where he has settled, made a home, and started a family.

In 2019, Simon purchased Las Etíopes, a seven hectare farm situated in the village of El Porvenir in Jaén, Cajamarca. The farm sits at an altitude of 1,900 masl and reaches 2,050 masl at its peak. In early 2020, the first trees were planted—Ethiopian heirloom varieties, Gesha, Wush Wush, and Sidra.

In 2021, Simon and his partner Merlith Cruz expanded the farm by buying an additional three hectares of land between 1,750 and 1,900 masl. They planted this area with Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra, Catimor, and a small amount of Pacamara. These local varieties, combined with the high altitudes, organic matter-rich soils, and humid climate, produce coffees with a pronounced acidity and great body.

Las Etíopes specializes in exotic varieties and impeccable processing. In 2022—their first season producing enough coffee to export—a farm blend of their varieties earned 19th place in the Cup of Excellence! They also process cherries purchased from neighbouring farms, known as out-growers.

This dynamic couple have also set up an exporting company called Chacra. In Peru this means a small farm or agricultural field, originating from the Quechua word "chakra" which signifies a small plot of arable land used to produce food for nearby residents.

Caturra is a pure-line dwarf mutant of red Bourbon, which was discovered in Minas Gerais, Brazil in 1937. Its leaf and fruit characteristics are similar to Bourbon, and Caturra cherries can be either red or yellow; otherwise known as Caturra Vermelho and Caturra Amarelo. It is short in height with abundant lateral branches and secondary branching, which gives to the plant a vigorous and compact aspect. Caturra was never grown in lowland plantations in Brazil due its susceptibility to coffee diseases and to lack of hardiness for Brazilian frost-risk areas. The adaptability of this variety is broad, so it has spread across Colombia and Central America, where it was and still is grown at higher altitudes.

The name Catuaí comes from the Guarani phrase "multo mom," meaning "very good." This variety was developed by the Instituto Agronômico (IAC) of São Paulo State in Campinas, Brazil. Catuaí is the result of crossing Mundo Novo, known for its high productivity, with Caturra, chosen for its small size. The outcome is a compact, high-yielding plant with consistently good cup quality across Central America. However, it's highly susceptible to leaf rust. Catuaí comes in both yellow and red-fruited types.
Catimor cultivars are **increasingly popular among farmers, producers, and consumers alike**. Originally developed by agricultural scientists in Portugal in 1959 with the aim of creating a disease resistant variety with high yields.

Catimor comes from crossing Híbrido de Timor (a natural hybrid of Canephora and Arabica) with Caturra (a Bourbon mutation). These plants are compact, enabling denser planting, and resist common coffee diseases. Catimor grows worldwide, particularly in regions where traditional Arabica varieties face challenges from disease or climate. However, in some areas like Southeast Asia, Catimor remains controversial due to questions about its quality and flavour profile compared to other Arabica varieties.

Bourbon is one of the most culturally and genetically significant varieties of Arabica coffee in the world. This tall variety is characterized by relatively low production and susceptibility to major diseases. However, it produces excellent cup quality when grown at high altitudes.

The first Bourbon plantation dates back to 1715 when the variety was introduced from Yemen to Bourbon Island, now known as La Réunion. Bourbon traces its origins to a broad group of C. arabica specimens that developed naturally and is still cultivated in Central America today.

Depending on the sub-group, Bourbon coffee can produce red, yellow, or orange-coloured cherries. The plant's shoots initially grow upwards at a 45° angle to the stem, and the stems are sturdy. Young leaves are green, and the plants generally have broader leaves and rounder fruit and seeds than Typica and its descendants.

The washed process was designed to minimise the danger of off-flavours caused by uncontrolled fermentation during the natural process. The cherries are usually sorted using a floatation tank where any under-ripe or defective fruits will float to the top and can be removed. The remaining cherries are then pulped and left in a tank to ferment until the sticky fruit mucilage is soft enough to be washed off the parchment, which is a paper-like layer surrounding the seed.

The design and cleanliness of the tanks is important, and the degree and speed of fermentation will depend on many variables including how much fruit remains, what bacteria and yeasts are present, whether the tank is filled with water, and the environmental conditions.
Once the mucilage has degraded sufficiently it is washed away using water and the remaining parchment coffee, as it’s commonly called, is dried until it reaches a safe moisture content. The bacteria and sugar-rich water used in the process needs to be treated carefully as it can cause algae blooms if it finds its way into streams and rivers.

In situations where large amounts of coffee is processed in bulk like Ethiopia it has proven economical for some operations to use a mechanical demucilager, removing all the fruit from the parchment with minimal water, and foregoing the fermentation stage completely. This however, is believed by some to lead to a reduction in cup quality as many pre-cursors for flavour are created through fermentation.