The power of sharing seeds

“I’m very proud of my family, my wife and my children.”
Jorge Ignacio

When Doña Isabel was left a widow, with 9 small children to feed and care for, she turned to coffee. Committed, she mostly sold her coffee locally; “my mother wasn’t thought to read or write so she wouldn’t write letters to her boyfriends” says Jorge “and yet, she has an enormous capacity and has always given us. I feel blessed to have her as my mother.” Jorge learnt everything he now knows about coffee through her mother and oldest brother who as Jorge states “left childhood in order to help his mother”. Specialty coffee came to the Marinos life when their life-long friends, the Tocto brothers, invited them to join their project. Their estates have always been close and in 2020, the family managed their first international export after years of technical assitance. Surrounded my spring waters, rainfalls, diverse variety of fruit trees at La Colmena, Jorge now has plans to include African beds and have his own fertilizers and composting deposits..

CULTIVARS:

Caturra, Catuei, Borboun amarillo, Natural, Typica, Capuei, Catimoro

ALTITUDE:

1,800 meters above sea level

NOTABLE :

La Colmena, as most of Churupampa’ partners, is organic. Coffee trees are watered with spring water from the estate, rainfalls surround it and a diverse array of fruit trees can be found in the estate.

PROCESSING:

After harvesting the cherries at their ripest point, they are fermented for 35 to 50 hours, de- pulped and fermented for another 24 to 30 hours. After semi-washing the coffee, it is placed in raised beds to dry for 18 to 20 days, depending on the weather and humidity.