THE NATURAL RESERVE

This coffee grows on the hills around the sacred El Oconal lagoon. This plantation is located in a natural reserve in the region of Villa Rica, de Pasco department, in the province of Oxapampa, that is, in the mountains of the Cordillera of the Andes of Peru. The area is located more than 1600 meters above sea level, the micro-climate of the rainforest and the soil characteristics of the Oxapampa biosphere reserve are ideal factors for growing coffee and obtaining an excellent result.

7 ELEMENTS NGO

7 ELEMENTS, the importer of this coffee, is a non-profit organization that works with the Yanesha of Tsachopen community. They have been working with the community for a long time, being in direct contact and supporting them with social and permaculture teaching projects. 7 ELEMENTS only imports coffee from this community, it does not deal with other coffees and other origins. In fact, according to their philosophy, to have an excellent product and to be able to distribute the benefits to producers, it is necessary to concentrate on a single project. They chose Yenesha for their location which is particularly suitable for coffee cultivation due to the climatic conditions and the composition of the soil.

Permaculture

7 ELEMENTS teaches permaculture techniques to the members of the Yanesha community to help them grow coffee while respecting the surrounding nature and according to the philosophy and principles of the natives who inhabit these lands. Permaculture is based around 3 fundamental concepts:

1. Earth care: 7 ELEMENTS is committed to teaching the community to respect the land and the soil with actions of reforestation, regeneration of local biodiversity, creation and protection of natural conservation areas, the absence of herbicide and pesticide products or any external input (such as fertilizers or organic products) but to privilege and inoculate pro-biotic microorganisms and use synergic and syntropic agriculture techniques.

2. Care for people: the organization takes care of the community and encourages members to help each other with continuous agricultural training linked to permaculture, sustainability and the right to work. It only involves local staff and supports education and health projects with local institutions and other NGOs.

3. Fair share: fair distribution of the profits obtained thanks to the remuneration of the producers at a much higher price compared to the Fair Trade producers, in addition to the reinvestment with purchases of materials, plants, and other equipment for a 10% share of the NGO’s profits and the distribution of corporate equity to the beneficiaries of their projects.

All of these practices were adopted after a careful analysis of the territory by taking into account its climate and its actors in order to choose the most suitable actions for this system. The aim is to try to rebalance the relationship between man and the planet by partially abandoning the principles of our modern economy.

The Process

This lot of Miel de la Selva is produced by Dante Lale, who with his expertise manages a Finca that has existed for more than 100 years, certified Rain Forest Alliance Bird-Friendly UTZ. The honey method deeply characterizes this coffee in the resulting cup. To obtain these unique notes, the beans are dried in the sun after pulping. The use of parijuelas, special containers for drying coffee, shading with canvas and strong natural ventilation guarantee a perfectly slow and uniform drying process.
The process requires many hours of care which allows to obtain a very complex coffee, with incredible sweetness and with a strong cocoa flavour and floral notes, which are ideal for filter extraction.