Feature Filter: Eli Espinoza | Perú
Key Origin Info:
Producer: Eli Espinoza Soberon
Processed at: Eli’s processing station
Region: Alto Pirias, Chirinos, Cajamarca
Altitude: 1650 - 1900 masl
Varieties: Gesha
Process: Natural, dried on raised beds
Exporter & Importer: Chacra Coffees
Cup profile: Silky body, black tea, elderflowers & wildflower honey
Purchasing history: 4 years, first purchase through Chacra 2025
Eli and his drying beds with drying coffee parchment.
About Eli & his coffee:
Eli is a young dynamic coffee producer and owner of 4 hectares of coffee planted land in the Alto Pirias area near the village of Las Pirias in the Chirinos district in Cajamarca region of Northern Peru.
Eli has a few parcels of land spread around the village in altitudes between 1800 – 2000 masl. Some parts of his land are planted with Typica and others with Caturra & Bourbon and. also Gesha. He has come to the area as a teenager looking for work on farms and he started picking coffee in the village. After a while he was able to buy his own land and house and started working to produce his own coffee.
In recent years, Eli has made some trials with natural processing of his coffee. After seeing that, when done well, the process can greatly alter the flavour profile of his coffee, yielding higher sales prices for higher cup scores, he has invested in a large solar dryer. This has increased his drying space capacity and it also allows him to have more control over the drying process and produce great quality natural lots alongside his washed coffees.
We are delighted to welcome Eli’s natural back again for the third season. This particular lot was washed and floated in cherry to separate out underripe fruits before undergoing drying under shade for one day and then being moved to the solar drying tent where it dried slowly under controlled conditions for 45 days. The resulting cup is sweet and jammy, with flavour profile reminding us of strawberry sweets and cantaloupe melon.