Whole Bean
Roast: Medium
Recommended Rest: 2-3 weeks from roast date
Tasting Notes: chocolate covered strawberry, bing cherry, port wine

Origin Details

Region: La Palma, Jaen, Peru
Elevation: 1850m
Producer: Marin Family, Joel Mirez
Process: Anaerobic Natural
Variety: Catuai Marshell Gesha

ABOUT THIS COFFEE AND PRODUCER

The Marin family—four brothers (Felipe, Joel, Aurelio, and Moises) and their father, Silvestre—grow coffee at 1,850 masl in La Palma, Jaén. Joel bought parcels there in 2021; the family lives locally and hires pickers during harvest. Plantings include Catuai, Marshell, and Gesha. Given the colder, wetter micro-region this season, they rest cherries for about 36 hours before de-pulping and ferment for a further 36 hours. They monitor drying with moisture meters and thermometers then use mechanical driers to finish parchment to 11% moisture after an initial spell on raised beds. They fertilise three times per year—mostly organic—and run soil analyses through the Specialty Plus project. With seven years of cultivation, the family has modernised layout and varietal selection compared with previous generations, and maintains minimal shade to maximise sun exposure.

WHY WE SELECTED THIS COFFEE

This is our first time releasing a medium roast from Peru, a region that has quietly become one of our favorite places to source from. The coffees we’ve been tasting from there have a depth and clarity that keep drawing us back, and this lot from the Marin family felt like the right one to share.

The Marin family has grown and processed a beautifully composed farm level blend of varietals that leans naturally jammy and expressive in a sweetened fruit + chocolate way. In the cup, we find a distinct strawberry jam note that we believe is largely driven by Catuai and Gesha, resting beneath a syrupy, chocolate forward body and darker cherry or currant that likely comes from Marshall. The structure is round and full yet it is still really easy to discern the different flavor layers here.

Altogether, it reminds us of chocolate covered strawberries supported by a darker fruit undertone similar to dried Bing cherries. The processing is precise and well executed, with a subtle sweetness that brings to mind port wine, present but not overly funky.

If you tend to enjoy coffees with thick texture, sweet jammy fruit, and a chocolate base, this one is definitely worth trying.