Peru Organic Finca La Esperanza

Producers Walter Gutierrez and his family moved east to Soritor from Cajamarca looking to improve their quality of life, and purchased the 29 acre Finca La Esperanza in 2007. At that time the farm was abandoned and in disrepair, consisting only of grasslands, trees, small ponds and some wild animals. Indeed other farms in the area were in much better condition, but the family did not have the available resources to purchase them. La Esperanza’s previous owner felt his land was only suited for producing basic crops like corn, and as such he sold it at a discounted rate. The Gutierrez family wisely estimated it’s value to be much higher were it renovated to become more productive and eventually produce a Peru organic coffee.

The family initially began planting coffee and corn, overtime turning to cocoa and later even constructing a small fish pond. In doing so the family demonstrated that there is no such thing as “bad land”, and that it is in fact possible to achieve a higher standard of living producing high quality coffee and all your own food from the same farm. Mindful of future generations and the need to sustain a productive and healthy ecosystem, the Gutierrez’s planted even more trees both for shade as well as the farm’s overall benefit. As time went by with coffee yields increasing and having received organic certification, they began conducting tests on their fermentation processes, which have significantly improved their cup profile.