Peru, Gregorio Espinoza

Gregorio Espinoza is a second-generation coffee grower who inherited the passion for coffee cultivation from his father who started growing coffee in the 1970s. Taking over the farm in the early 1990s, Gregorio has continued to improve and innovate with coffee.

Since 2016, his sons (Gregorio and Jimi) are now in the fold and with the introduction of the internet to the area, the family have been learning the craft of experimental processes through online courses.

The coffee farm is located in San Antonio de Chinizo, within the Pozuzo district, Oxapampa province, Pasco region. The farm spans 10 hectares, where coffee is grown alongside other crops like avocados, cacao, corn, and bananas.

Across 7 hectares is mainly where most of the coffee grows and this includes a number of varietals, mainly Red Catuai, Geisha, Pacamara, Obata, Maragogipe, Typica and Caturra.

Selective harvesting is carried out with the Brix levels being checked for consistency. They then ferment the cherries in sealed bags for a 36 hour anaerobic fermentation.

After that they pulp the beans with the aim to leave as much mucilage as possible for the Black Honey process, followed by another 36 hours in an open air tank. The coffee is then dried in solar dryers with layered drying beds for 9 days and then rested for 30 days in a cold cellar.

Gregorio’s approach to coffee farming is rooted in his family’s tradition, but also with a focus on innovation and unique processing techniques to create specialty coffee with exceptional flavour profiles.

They are one of a few farms in the province to have continued with coffee cultivation after the low prices of 2014/15 turned many other producers to cattle instead of coffee.