Peru was divided into 24 departments before the 2002 addition of the Callao province and a collective renaming to regions. It is the Cajamarca region, home to many great coffee producing provinces that Sol Y Café members grow their coffee, from the slopes of the Andes mountain range to the Amazon rainforest and its diverse flora and fauna.
There are many protected areas around, and this means production leans towards an organic methodology with the aim of preserving as much of the biodiversity as they can. The cooperative has just over 1000 farmers spread across 12 districts in total. Their aim is to improve the living conditions of their members through the increase in productivity, production, and profitability as well as quality and the positioning of themselves within niche markets.
They support this with the provision of financial support, production of fertilizers and technical assistance. The fertilizers have taken a huge step forward with the joint cooperation of another of our suppliers from Honduras, using microorganisms to faster create organic compost the farmers need, whilst preserving the integrity of the landscape. This constant innovation means they are also carrying out their own version of a multilocational varietal trial to be able to better advise their members which plants to grow.
Coffee is picked, pulped, and dried at farm level, and then brought to Jaén, where the headquarters are located and where there are additional drying facilities. The Dios te Dé selection is just that – the highest scoring lots from the cupping lab are a gift from God, and so chosen to be separated from the main lots. The Toucan forms the logo as it is said that the croak of this bird is the sound of God sleeping. The trees favoured by the Toucan are the larger trees from the tallest parts of the forest, found at the highest altitudes, where they almost seem to touch the heavens. This parallels nicely with the high altitude of the coffee, the extra premiums it commands for the growers, and the floral quality in the cup, reminiscent of nectar, drink of the gods. Once dry, coffee is stored in parchment here before being sold, when it is transported to the dry mill facilities at Norandino, in neighbouring Piura.
