We traveled 4,600 miles for a cup of coffee
48 hours of total transit time, treacherous roads, towering mountains, sheer cliff faces, and incredible people.
The air in Lima was thick with fog and anticipation. In 24 hours, we would climb from sea level to over 7,000 feet, through jungle roads, roaring rivers, and into the heart of Peru’s most pristine coffee lands.
Our journey began in Lima where the team assembled for one last gear check. Cameras, check, bug spray, check, antimalarial pills, check. Hiking boots tied, mosquito nets equipped, and off we go. We set out as the sun barely rose into the thick fog of Lima.
After a 30 minute drive in a seemingly endless maze of cars, trucks, buses, and one way streets, we arrived at the Jorge Chávez International Airport for the first leg of the journey.
Wheels up. Seatbelts fastened. Take-off complete. Our first stop, Chiclayo. Peru’s fourth largest city. We land and meet our driver Javier who helps us load our bags into his 4x4. A quick stop for gas and snacks before the real journey begins, onward to Jaén. A small town nestled 2,300 feet above the sea in the Peruvian high jungle. Typically this leg would only last an hour in a small propeller plane, however due to some questionable engineering choices, the Jaén Airport was being rebuilt and the runway was being repoured which meant the only way to get there was by car. The drive time to Jaén… 9 hours.
After a never-ending series of switchbacks, dust, and sheer cliff faces, every turn a reminder of how far great coffee must travel to reach your cup. We approached the glow of the city lights in Jaén. Exhausted, cramped, and sweaty from one of the longest car rides of our lives, we finally arrived at our hotel. Quick to bed because at dawn, we ride for the mills.
Our first stop was the Finca Churupampa mill where thousands of pounds of coffee are trucked in, milled, sorted, and bagged by the members of the group every day. After a brief introduction and a tasting of this season’s newest coffees, it was time to hop into the next truck and head to the farm itself. This time our guide was Miguel Diaz, Don Miguel, as he was referred to. Miguel is a master agronomist, fourth generation coffee farmer, and protector of these untouched coffee growing lands.
Washed out roads, mountain trails, sudden thunderstorms, dust clouds, rivers, valleys, and some of the most skilled four-wheel driving we’ve ever seen accompanied our next four-hour journey to some of the most pristine coffee farms on the planet. 7,200 feet above sea level, we arrived at the crown jewel of the Churupampa growing group, Finca Palmapampa. Finca Palmapampa, is one of the few 100% Regenerative Organic Certified coffee farms in Peru and is a masterclass in the symbiosis between man, farm, and nature.
Nestled high in the mountains, surrounded by banana trees, native pines, giant palm trees, cocoa trees, and massive white clouds are the most valuable coffee trees in the collective.
After a nearly vertical hike up a sheer mountain face through thick vegetation and dense living soil that came up to our ankles, we finally made it to the coffee plants.
What a sight. Red bourbon coffee trees speckled in the landscape, dotted with native vegetation to provide shade and protect the trees from the intense UV sunlight. Foraging
chickens briefly pop their heads up before going back to work on the soil, gently tilling, and picking at grubs and insects while mixing the natural compost back into the soil.
This land is truly amazing. The soil is so rich you can smell it in the air. The coffee trees were covered in thousands of bright red coffee cherries so sweet they tasted like candy. The most interesting part was amidst all this nature, there was not a machine or chemical in sight, no tillers, no tractors, no augers. Not a single barrel of glyphosate, nitrides, or pesticides anywhere. Just people hand picking the coffee, mules trekking down the mountain side with sacks of coffee beans on their backs, and rows of sun-dried coffee beans laying on the drying beds slowly being turned by hand.
These coffees are so distinct, so flavorful, and so unique that they are not even available on the open coffee market. Through deep relationship building, trust between our coffee farmers and the Heirloom team, and a truly fair-trading system, are we able to secure this years harvest of these exceptional beans.
Every sip of Heirloom coffee carries this journey, from the living soil beneath our boots, to the farmers’ hands, and the sweetness of those mountain cherries. This is why our coffee tastes so alive and vibrant. These very same beans are used in Heirloom’s award-winning coffee blends because we know the love, hard work, and care that the farmers put into growing these coffees are reflected in the taste that makes them truly exceptional.
As we sit and reflect on this immense journey 4,600 miles away in the Heirloom Roastery, after roasting our samples and pouring the first cup, we finally took that first sip and tasted everything this journey stood for. Resilience, purity, and the quiet power of nature working as it should to create a masterful cup of Heirloom coffee.
