Finca Lauramarca - Hilario Ccoyo - Natural Java - Nanolot

Who is Hilario Ccoyo?

Hilario Ccoyo is a smallholder coffee producer from the Moyomonte sector of Huayopata, in La Convención province, Cusco. He is part of a generation of producers who combine inherited agricultural knowledge with careful, experience-led experimentation. His work is quiet and deliberate, focused on observation, patience, and long-term stewardship of his land rather than volume or speed. Hilario is deeply rooted in his community and cooperative history, with family ties that stretch back decades in local coffee production.

About Hilario Ccoyo and the family farm, Finca Lauramarca

The farm covers 2.5 hectares in total, of which approximately 0.5 hectares are planted with Java. Coffee here is grown at 1,950 metres above sea level, placing it firmly in a high-altitude zone that favours slow cherry development and dense bean structure.

The farm sits within a ravine, creating a cooler and more humid microclimate than surrounding areas. Temperatures generally range between 13°C and 28°C, but the shaded, enclosed geography of Moyomonte moderates extremes and supports extended maturation. This environment is especially well suited to varieties like Java, which benefit from slower metabolic development and stable conditions.

Flowering typically occurs in November, with the first cherries appearing in January. Harvest builds gradually, with peak picking between August and October, when sugars, acids, and aromatics reach their balance.

How was the coffee processed?

This Java lot was processed using a carefully developed oxidation-style process, refined through several seasons of experimentation with Hilario’s coffee.

After harvesting, cherries are floated and washed to remove defects. Instead of moving directly into a solar dryers, the coffee is laid out in the sun for three consecutive days, allowing controlled oxidation to begin. This stage is followed by 12 days in a solar dryer, where airflow and temperature are managed to stabilise the coffee and prevent over-fermentation.

The goal of this process is not intensity, but preservation—maintaining clarity while avoiding the stripping effect that the local water can have in a fully washed process. Once drying is complete, the coffee is stabilised and rested before milling. The final result is a clean yet distinctive profile, with cocoa paste, green apple, and a structure that sets it apart from both classic washed and typical natural coffees.

The role of AYNI for this coffee?

AYNI plays a supporting and connective role in this coffee’s journey. Through AYNI, producers like Hilario gain access to market connections, logistical support, and advocacy beyond their immediate geography. The association also helps amplify small, high-quality lots that might otherwise remain unseen due to access challenges, infrastructure limitations, or scale.

In Hilario’s case, AYNI has been part of ensuring that a very small production—just four bags from the 2025 harvest, yielding 100 kg, which we were fortunate to be offered all.

The relationship we have with AYNI and theirs with Hilario

AYNI plays a connective role in this coffee through long-standing, place-based relationships in Cusco. We first met Kevin Roman, who leads AYNI’s work on the ground, at a cupping of Cusco coffees in Lima. Following that meeting, we stayed in touch and continued to follow the work he was building through AYNI, drawn to the clarity of purpose and consistency evident in their producer relationships and storytelling.

Through Kevin, we were introduced to Hilario Ccoyo, a producer based in the Moyomonte sector of Huayopata. Kevin has known Don Hilario for several years through shared cooperative networks and ongoing regional work in La Convención. Their relationship is grounded in proximity, trust, and a shared understanding of the challenges faced by small, high-altitude producers in this part of Cusco.

Hilario’s coffee first came into view for us in 2022, during a COE-related context, where support was provided to help identify a suitable market for his lot. Since then, the relationship—facilitated through Kevin and AYNI—has grown through repeated farm visits, regular communication, and shared problem-solving around production, access, and processing choices.

Reaching Finca Lauramarca remains demanding, involving local transport from Huyro followed by a final one-hour hike up the mountain. This physical isolation highlights the infrastructural constraints under which Hilario works. Beyond coffee itself, Kevin and AYNI have worked alongside Hilario to engage local authorities on the need for improved road access, recognising connectivity as central to the long-term sustainability of his farm.

There is also a deeper historical layer to this relationship. Don Hilario was previously a cooperative colleague of Teófilo Enríquez (Kevin's great-grandfather), reinforcing a sense of continuity and shared values that underpin the trust and care behind their relationship.

What Hilario and family want you to know

Hilario and his family want this coffee to be understood as the result of time, restraint, and belief in their land. The Java trees on the farm were not introduced through formal programmes; they were selected, preserved, and propagated by Hilario himself. Initially referred to locally as “Bourbon Papa”—a name suggested by his daughters—these plants were gradually identified, through observation and comparison, as Java.

What matters most to the family is not the rarity of the variety, but the care behind it: choosing not to rush harvests, not to force yields, and not to follow trends blindly. This coffee represents a long-term commitment to quality, even when volumes are small and logistics are difficult. For Hilario, each harvest is not just a product, but proof that thoughtful, place-driven coffee from Huayopata deserves a voice on the world stage.