Estrella Divina is the name of this specific lot made up of coffee from a collective of 27 producers.

They are smallholders with 1-3 hectares each and are located in high altitudes close to the village Rumpite in La Coipa, north of Peru. La Coipa is in the San Ignacio region, one of the main producing regions in Peru. The producers are part of a coffee quality program and are all organic certified.

This Estrella Divina coffee is part of a sourcing program through an organization called Origin Coffee Lab.

Origin Coffee Lab started the project “Estrella Divina” in 2017 and is currently working with around 72 producers to produce the best quality coffee in the region. In the last few years, they started a new program called Solidario, giving all the producers training, market access, finance, and feedback about quality. For these coffees, the producers are taught how to implement a more controlled fermentation process and monitor drying time based on hours of sunlight.

They select micro-lots of coffees that are high performing at lot sizes between 10 - 20 bags. And they try to buy producer blends from the same areas as much as they can. The program is based on good premiums paid to the producers across all their coffees. Investing in the communities is crucial to get a consistent supply and give the farmers incentives to invest.

Future Estrella Divina project priorities are planting varieties new to the region such as Bourbon and Yellow Caturra while continuing to improve on fermentation, drying and storage processes.

We, as always, are more than happy to support these kinds of programs. We think that investing in the communities at origin is one of the most effective ways to help the specialty coffee scene.

At the farms:

A typical farmer within this program will have 2 hectares planted with coffee. They are mainly organic, and many are certified. They mostly grow Caturra, Pache and Bourbon. The farmers help each other in the harvesting season. They have something called “Mingas” that means “today for you, tomorrow for me”.

The altitude ranges from 1600 - 2100 masl. The farmers have their small individual beneficios where, after harvesting, they depulp, ferment, wash and dry the coffee themselves.

It is usually a small pulper and a wooden or concrete fermentation tank. Fermentation normally takes between 13 and 18 hours, while drying from 12 to 20 days. The equipment can be elementary, but coffees can still be amazing. Some have their own parabolic dryers, while others dry on plastic outside their farms or use a drying facility at their neighbour or relative’s place.

The lots are evaluated separately before they are approved as part of a high-quality communal producer blend.

In the cup:

Easy to like, sweet, floral, and clean. Very soft mouthfeel, yet juicy and super sweet.

Flavour notes of caramel, sweet citrus and stone fruits.

Minimum resting period: 10 days from the roast date for espresso roast, 5 days for filter roast.