We'll be honest, we bought this coffee cause it's kinda punk rock ... and because it's always exciting to taste a completely new varietal. Let us explain. Marcelino Chinguel came across a coffee tree on his farm that he hadn't seen before, so he tested it and discovered that he had a new plant varietal. Here's the punk part: He named it "Marshel," after himself. We appreciate the chutzpah so much that we bought a bag last year even though the raw coffee was super expensive.
This is our second year buying the "Marshel," and we think it's astonishingly good — genuinely about 5 points better than last year with notes of grape juice, strawberry, and mandarin. We think you should buy it to taste a completely unique type of coffee, to support an amazing farmer, and to support his attitude in naming coffees. Power to the farmers!
We sourced this coffee through our new friends at Equatorial.
Chinguel has been growing coffee for most of his life, well over forty years. He is always willing to explore and change his way of thinking, and this lot represents that spirit. He lives with his family on their farm, La Lucuma, where they handle most of the work throughout the year themselves, only hiring eight pickers during harvest. Chinguel takes care of the administration and sales duties, his wife manages the post-harvesting protocols, Franklin (the oldest son) is in charge of picking, and the youngest son Yocner is the quality control manager.
This lot is processed as a natural, so after picking the coffee is hand-sorted, floated, and left to rest for 16 hours before being laid out to dry on raised beds in the solar drier for around 20 to 30 days.
Alongside Honduras, Peru has historically been regarded as the discount Latin American origin of unremarkable and often uneven-quality coffees. This reputation and its accompanying price discount are the results of supply chains focused on large volumes based on aggregated quality. These chains are built to serve roasters seeking value over remarkable coffee, and it happens at the expense of Peruvian farmers who don’t get better incomes through improved quality. We believe that Peru has the potential to match up in quality to any of its origin counterparts in Latin America, and we're aiming to prove this with coffees like this one. The altitude of the Andes combined with rich volcanic soils and tropical rainfall means that Peru has the ideal topography and climate for producing high-quality speciality coffee.
Elevation: 1900 Meters Above Sea Level
Varietal: Marshel
Cup score: 88
Price paid per kg: £13.85
Process: Natural
