Yes we can. If you know what Peruvian Coffees you want to source, we can provide a logistics only service.
For more information about this service and how it works, including financing, email hello@khipucoffee.co.uk
Quantity Available
SOLD OUT.Location
La Colpa, Huaranchal, Otuzco, La LibertadAltitude
2100mVariety
TypicaProcess
Yellow Honey (Double, Anaerobic & Extended Fermentation)SCA Score
85Flavour Profiles
Dark Chocolate, Dried FruitsHarvest Period
July - September 2025Certifications
N/AEmiliano Ramos Gallardo and Mirian Garcia Cavero are lifelong farmers from Huaranchal, a small and little-known coffee district in northern Peru where fewer than ten families currently produce specialty coffee. For Mirian, coffee is part of her family history, passed down through generations. Emiliano, by contrast, originally focused on fruit production, and for many years the family farm was dedicated almost entirely to granadilla, a tropical fruit related to passion fruit.
Over time, fruit production became increasingly difficult. Pests, unstable yields, and low profitability made it hard to sustain the farm—especially as the family worked to support the education of their son, Everson. In 2017, a turning point came through their meeting with Carlos and Greins from Proyecto Otuzco.
What began as technical training soon became a complete shift in direction. Through sustained guidance—from cultivation and selective harvesting to fermentation and drying—the Ramos Garcia family transitioned from conventional agriculture into specialty coffee, with a clear long-term vision.
The Ramos Garcia farm is located in La Colpa, a village within the Huaranchal district of Otuzco, in the La Libertad region. Sitting at around 2,100 meters above sea level, the farm is nestled into narrow valleys within a dry, mountainous landscape more commonly associated with coal mining than coffee cultivation. This harsh environment, combined with altitude, creates slow cherry maturation and pronounced flavour development.
The family manages approximately 2.5 hectares, growing Red Caturra and Typica coffee alongside a wide range of fruit trees. These trees serve a dual purpose: they provide natural shade for the coffee and offer diversified income streams that reduce reliance on a single crop.
Guinea pigs, chickens, and a small number of sheep are also kept on the farm, primarily to supply manure for composting and organic fertilisation. Everything on the farm is interconnected, with soil health, shade management, and biodiversity forming the foundation of their production model.
This lot is a Yellow Honey Typica, representing a careful balance between fermentation control, drying precision, and expression of terroir. While the Ramos Garcia family primarily works with natural coffees due to limited water access and a dry climate, honey processing has become an area of focused experimentation—and mastery—over the past five years.
Harvesting is fully selective, with only ripe cherries picked. After harvest, cherries undergo an open, dry fermentation for approximately 12 to 18 hours. For the honey lots, the cherries are then pulped, leaving a controlled amount of mucilage intact. The parchment is placed into closed plastic bags for a 72-hour dry fermentation, allowing microbial activity to develop under low-oxygen conditions while maintaining temperature stability.
Drying takes place over 20 to 22 days on raised beds, with daytime temperatures typically ranging between 30 and 35°C. Despite the extended drying period, the coffee retains a yellow honey appearance rather than progressing into darker honey styles.
Drying continues until the parchment reaches approximately 11% moisture, after which the coffee is rested to stabilise before milling.
The result is a honey coffee that offers clarity and freshness rather than the heavier intensity often associated with naturals—an intentional stylistic choice that also reflects how the team enjoyed it on the cupping table.
In recent years, Proyecto Otuzco has moved from a single-district initiative into a consolidated regional model. The project now actively works across three core origins within Otuzco—Huaranchal, Usquil, and Charat—supporting twelve families producing varying volumes of coffee. Alongside this, the wider Sierra Liberteña Project was established to include other provinces and districts within La Libertad, such as Gran Chimú (Cascas), Trujillo (Shirán), and Bolívar (Púsac).
This expansion led to the creation of the first Liberteña Cup, a regional competition inspired by Cup of Excellence protocols. With support from two professional cuppers, coffees were blind-evaluated under strict criteria.
No public or private institution had previously organised a competition of this kind in the region, making it a milestone moment. Usquil emerged as a standout origin, with the Sánchez and Julca families placing first and third with Catuaí coffees scoring 86.25 and 85.5 points. Second place went to Cascas, where the Saldaña family’s blend of Yellow Caturra and Bourbon achieved 86 points.
The success of the competition reinforced the project’s belief in La Libertad’s potential and laid the groundwork for future editions.
Working across multiple ecological zones means that coffee development timelines vary significantly. At elevations between 1,700 and 1,850 masl, flowering typically begins in October, with harvests starting in May and finishing by July. Farms between 1,900 and 2,100 masl—like the Ramos Garcia family—see flowering closer to December, with harvests running from June through to September. At the highest elevations, between 2,200 and 2,490 masl, flowering begins in January, and harvests extend from July into October.
The Ramos Garcia family has been working with Proyecto Otuzco since 2019, and living alongside them has allowed the team to deeply understand their strengths, challenges, and ambitions.
Emiliano and Mirian are intensely curious and self-driven, constantly reading, watching videos, and refining their understanding of fermentation and drying. Their son Everson plays an active role on the farm, representing a new generation fully embedded in specialty coffee.
Honey processing holds a special place in their work. Although produced in small batches of five to six quintals per season for ease of control, these coffees offer an important alternative to the intensity of naturals. Feedback from baristas, lab evaluations, and tasting tables has consistently shown that honey coffees resonate with a segment of the market seeking freshness and balance. For the Ramos Garcia family, this style is not just experimental—it is deeply enjoyable to produce and a meaningful part of their identity as specialty coffee producers.
Through their involvement in Proyecto Otuzco, the family has evolved from traditional farmers into specialised coffee producers, equipped with the technical knowledge and confidence to engage directly with quality-focused buyers. This Yellow Honey Typica stands as a clear expression of that journey: precise, intentional, and rooted in a place that is only just beginning to be discovered.
After visiting the Ramos Garcia family and their farm, their fellow coffee producing neighbours, and Carlos and Greins from Proyecto Otuzco, we are planting early seeds in this supply chain with a lot of trust and belief it will be very fruitful. There are a total of 200-300 families that cultivate coffee in Otuzco and less than 10 are specialty.
The Ramos Garcia family are an example of conventional to specialty with the help of experts and now a buyer that can pay premiums which in turn will create an investment in the future of coffee in this region. We are exctied to be involved in this project.
