La Palma - Peruvian Coffee with Hints of Floral, Stonefruits, and Berries

The La Palma lot was produced by 2 smallholder farmers: Ismael Alarcon Mirez & Leonilda Cotrina Herrera. Both are members of the El Santuario Association, which works with small-scale producers in Cajamarca, Peru. The lot name La Palma' was chosen as it is the town closest to the farms of both producers. Ismael's farm is named La Palmera, after the native tree that grows readily there. Leonilda's farms are La Naranja (the Orange Tree), La Piña (the Pineapple) and Laurel also after fruit trees that grow on her land.

Flavour Profile of La Palma

Ismael and Leonilda use the same strict harvest and processing methods. During the harvest, coffee is selectively handpicked with only the ripest

Caturra, Mundo Novo, Pache, Typica, Caturra & Catimor

cherries being harvested at each pass. These cherries are then hand-sorted to ensure no underripe or damaged cherries make it into the fermentation tanks. After pulping, it will then ferment in a tin tank for around 18 hours before being washed clean in pure water. Both farms constructed raised African' beds for drying, and the clean parchment will lie on these, being turned for around two weeks. Once roasted, each bag of coffee hints to flavours of floral, stonefruits, and berries.

Coffee Grown in Peru

Ismael is 29 years old and has been farming coffee all his life. He lives with his mother and his brothers, who help him farm his land and bring in the harvest. Leonilda Cotrina Herrera is 30 years old and lives with her husband and her three children near the town of La Palma. She also relies entirely on coffee production to help support her family. She works her hardest to teach her children, as well, the techniques of producing high-quality coffee. Although he takes additional work here and there to make ends meet, his main economic activity coffee production, and he is very committed to improving his understanding of quality so that he can place his coffee on the speciality market. To this end, he has learned how to cup and he continues to improve his skills whenever he can. Ismael takes coffee production very seriously. He regularly fertilises his coffee (January and October) and prunes at the end of September. Most years his harvest starts in May and ends in October. All participating producers are required to take strict care with regards to harvesting and processing, which also helps overcome the limitations of low technification in the region. Quality has, above all, been a focus for the organisation, given the demands of the current market for exceptional coffees, and since processing in Peru is rustic, great care and attention must be taken with all stages of processing. Each producer has their own processing infrastructure, but all are required to apply the utmost attention and check the coffee frequently.

Fortitude Coffee Roasters

Fortitude Coffee is one of those coffee shops that you look long and hard to find. Inside, you will find this amazing uniqueness that lends to the atmosphere and environment that owners Matt and Helen Carroll have been working hard to achieve since they opened the doors in 2014.

Fortitude Coffee is situated just around the corner from Edinburgh Bus Station. If you are visiting the area, then stopping off to have a speciality coffee should be the first destination through the historical city of Edinburgh.

The journey for Fortitude Coffee Roasters began in 2014 when Matt and Helen opened a small speciality cafe in the centre of Edinburgh, which at the time was still a relatively new concept (although it has now exploded). Over the next three years, they worked hard and developed a reputation for serving some of the best coffee available in the capital.

Try This Coffee in Your Next Blue Coffee Box

To experience full flavoured coffees like the La Palma blend, be sure and sign up for a Blue Coffee Box Subscription. Click for more details and to find out how you can get your first box.