Caffe Society - Peruvian UNICAFEC

In the northernmost region of Peru lies San Ignacio, a small mountainous town 40 minutes from the Ecuadorian border. It's quite remote up there; the nearest commercial centre is some three hours away and the provincial roads wind their way through the undulating green countryside. Secluded it may be, but like many of the towns in this part of Peru the climate is warm, the soil fertile and the altitude high: It's the perfect location for growing coffee.

This coffee is grown by the coffee farmers of the Asociacion Union de Cafetaleros Ecologicos (UNICAFEC), a local agricultural cooperative which was founded in 2001. Based in San Ignacio, its 400 or so members are spread out across the sloping mountainside that surrounds the border town and many of them intercrop their coffee fields with other fruit, which gives their coffee such a welcoming profile.

This is particular lot is remarkably clean coffee in both taste and acidity with the most prominent note running through the cup being crunchy green apple. Away for the apple you'll find hints of dates and other dried fruits, which begin to appear in the aftertaste. It also has a substantial but not overwhelming body, a pleasing mouthfeel and a rewarding complexity.

On the whole this is one of the most balanced coffees that we've sampled: It's not too sweet and not too sour and has a layered flavour profile that never borders on being confusing.

This is a remarkable and multi-faceted coffee that just keeps showcasing a different side to itself whether you prepare it as a filter or use it to create lattes.

Ethically sourced and organically grown, the UNICAFEC cooperative has begun to invest their premiums into the construction of a modern coffee laboratory and research centre with the aim of improving both their yield and overall coffee quality. If this lot is anything to go by, they're firmly on the right track.

Roasterr: Caffe Society

Caffe Society does not deliver to United Kingdom