What's Up With Peruvian Coffee?

Griffin Thomas, Communications Manager | Fortuna Enterprises, LLC


Image from: Young_n, Pixabay

The Fortuna Roast Master’s efforts have obviously paid off; William is extremely busy roasting massive batches of highly demanded coffee this week, so it is the duty of your friendly neighborhood Communications Manager to write about April’s featured coffee origin! Readers can rest assured that, though I do not roast the coffee myself, I am armed with the coffee knowledge that comes with regular cuppings and daily consumption of over 6 cups during work hours. 


Arrival of the Coffee Plant
Despite being a relatively uncommon name in coffee production, Peru has a long and interesting history of coffee experience. Peru has actually been producing some of the most consistently excellent beans in the world dating back to the 1700’s after being one of the first countries in the Americas to start cultivating coffee plants. 

Interesting note: Peru’s early start in growing coffee can actually be credited to the Dutch; Roast Master William wrote about this in a previous blog, explaining that: 


“Only a few hundred years after the construction of the Al-Makha port, the Dutch, on behalf of the rest of the envious and coffee-craving world, were able to sneak a single coffee tree out of Yemen (a big-time crime punishable by death). As the story goes, a Dutch agent weathered torrential storms and gave the ailing coffee tree his water rations in order to get it back to the Dutch Indonesian colonies for planting … The Dutch were successful in planting the coffee on the island of Java, where the new, thriving colonial crop would quickly become part of global trade.” - (William Barton, "A History of Moka Java")


Peruvian Beans Go Global
While many Central American locations are actually far closer to the original Dutch port, the coffee plant somehow arrived in Peru before spreading to other countries. Once the crop began taking shape, Peruvian coffees were kept secret for centuries, enjoyed only by the country’s farmers and surrounding communities. However, when coffee crops started to suffer in other parts of the world, European entities started looking to Peru. Heavy investments were made, and Peru’s beans started to go global. 

Coffee production in Peru has since increased dramatically, and the country has become a force in global coffee trade. Peru is now number ten globally in coffee production and number five globally in producing arabica beans. 


Taste of Peru
Peru’s coffee is grown in several different ways depending on each farm’s landscape, and the varied elements of each location can impact flavor drastically. Beans produced by farms in lower altitudes tend to come with simple, middling profiles; these coffees are often identified by mild acidity, medium body, and nutty, floral tasting notes. 


Coffees like our new Doña Elsa Ocupa Zambora, on the other hand, achieve far more expansive flavor profiles from the higher altitudes in which they are grown. These beans offer brighter acidities with intense floral aromas and deep, rich flavors. Our Zambora is an extremely unique coffee, and we have Doña Elsa’s farm to thank for the high quality beans that reach our roasting room. 





- Griffin Thomas
Communications Manager
Fortuna Enterprises, LLC




Fortuna Enterprises - Want it all? We have it all!

Established in 2000, Fortuna Enterprises is the consummate leader in providing complete and comprehensive solutions for all of your coffee shop needs. Located in Greensboro, NC, Fortuna excels in unparalleled customer service by offering specialty roasted small-batch coffee, a fully stocked warehouse, imports, design, equipment repair, consulting, barista training, and more!

We are compelled to be the unsurpassed authority for all coffee shop requirements. We use this drive to continue our extensive research in carefully selecting only the highest quality coffees, equipment, syrups and other coffee shop necessities. Our products have a proven record of premium industry performance and unmatched reliability. We buy large quantities from our suppliers so we are in turn able to negotiate extremely competitive pricing for our customers. 

We look forward to hearing from you about how we can take you from concept to completion!


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