PERU JUVER SANTACRUZ - FILTER

Two brothers are the protagonists of this lot: Jesus and Lizandro Llatas Santacruz. They live in Queromarca, a small town in the Callayuc district, province of Cutervo and Cajamarca region. Callayuc has all the conditions to grow fantastic coffee: fertile soils, altitude that range from 1600 to 2000 masl, good cup varieties (mainly red and yellow Caturra, but also bourbon, Typica) but it is more and more affected by droughts. So farmers have had to adjust to the conditions and as a consequence the use of water is limited. On top of that, they have been fermenting their coffees into closed environments (often thick plasticbags under shade) to allow yeasts to form and add a distinctive fruity profile to their cups. Of course they supervise the levels of fermentation to avoid defects.

The story of the Santacruz brothers fits within many farmers in Peru as they used to sell their entire crops to local buyers that would arrive at their farm door and take the bags away at a cheap price. Now they deliver their coffee to Cultivar, where after through quality control they receive a much higher price for it. This gap in price is a great help in their income that they complement with growing cattle. Cajamarca is very well known for its cattle culture, providing the region with an abundant amount of cheese, milk and beef.

As for the future of the Santacruz family and their coffee business we have very good hopes. Jesus, one of the brothers, has recently bought a few extra hectares of land with the idea to plant more exotic and delicate varieties like Geisha and he is a good representation of the younger generation of farmers that will take the lead in the coffee production in the years to come in Cajamarca.