David, the head roaster at Bivouac since 2021, went to meet coffee producers in Peru this fall!
After landing in Lima, David headed north to Peru, on the route of our coffee beans, to the source. He accompanied Cooperative Coffees Supply Manager Felipe Gurdián Piza, who is used to this kind of trip.
On his first stop in Piura, David visited the Norandino cooperative, where we source our beans for Pleine Lune decaffeinated coffee. He saw coffee trees in bloom and got a first-hand look at the process of transforming coffee cherries.
From Piura, our roaster headed for the small town of Jaén in the north-west of the country, set in a mountainous landscape interspersed with valleys. It was here that David visited the Cenfrocafé producers' cooperative and that of Sol & Café, our partner since the beginnings of Bivouac (and La p'tite Brûlerie) in 2011!
There's so much to tell, but here's what particularly impressed him:
- Impressive coffee tastings, up to 11 different coffees in one cupping!
- Discovering beans from the famous botanical variety of geisha coffee, which is currently very popular in the industry. An exceptional micro-batch that we'll have access to at Bivouac...to be continued!
- The variety of machines used by the cooperatives, including those for sorting dried coffee beans, some equipped with lasers, others more rustic.
Most of all, David was surprised by the Sol & Café cooperative's ability to use income from the sale of coffee beans to improve the community's quality of life. For example, he visited a school built by the cooperative, a dental center and a health clinic.
“Meeting the growers came to consolidate why I do this work. I don't roast coffee to roast coffee, there are all the social and fair trade values that give meaning to my work.” - David.
