Tag Archives: peru

A Peruvian Adventure Honeymoon

A Peruvian Adventure Honeymoon

A recent article in the New York Times by New York Times writer Julie Baumgardner features the Peruvian  honeymoon of Helen Toomer and Eric Romano. The couple tasted exotic Peruvian cuisine, traveled the markets, and of course visited the iconic Machu Picchu.

We’re always pleased to see the growing interest in Peru. It really does offer spectacular scenery, wonderful culinary delights, and a culture that is refreshingly different.

From the New York Times:
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Real People, Really Good Coffee – Finca El Dorado, Horst Gehrmann

Horst Gehrmann

Update 11/11/18 Recently we lost Horst Gehrmann. It was a shock to lose a fellow coffee lover, and the loss will be felt long. Reposted in Memorium: RIP Horst Gehrmann.

The Gehrmann family migrated to Villa Rica, Peru after the first World War. This part of Peru has many German and Italian immigrants that migrated here in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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Peru aspires to join the select cocoa market

Via Gestion Peru:

Exports of fine aromatic cocoa from Peru have been growing at an annual rate of 22.5%, according to Jose Iturrios of Alliance Cacao Peru.

New opportunities in the international market for fine aromatic cocoa involve diversifying product supplier countries, and Peru aims to become one of the leading producers of this sector, but must keep up the competitive standards and quality in production, said José Iturrios, national director of the Alliance Cacao Peru.
Continue reading Peru aspires to join the select cocoa market

Tarapoto to Villa Rica – A Long Strange Coffee Trip (Part 2)

 

This is Part 2 (Part 1 here) of our trip from Tarapoto to Villa Rica, and then onto San Ramon (and then to Lima.) In search of specialty coffee, and to participate in the Curibamba Coffee workshops for growers in the communities above San Ramon Peru.
Continue reading Tarapoto to Villa Rica – A Long Strange Coffee Trip (Part 2)

San Martín forest restored after illegal logging and coca planting

One ongoing problem in Peru is illegal mining and logging. Many once virgin rainforest areas have been devastated by clear cutting. As the forest is cut, biodiversity diminishes dramatically and is accompanied by a loss in wildlife and also results in loss of air and water quality, not just in the immediate area, but throughout the entire watershed.

Part of a sustainable future for coffee farmers is recognizing that working with nature vs clear cutting accompanied by composting residual crop waste as opposed to burning is the best way to maintain soil stability (critical on the hillsides,) and preserve nutrients over the long term.

Some areas are being restored according to this report via Peru This week:
Continue reading San Martín forest restored after illegal logging and coca planting

Tarapoto to Villa Rica – A Long Strange Coffee Trip (Part 1)

 

The last week or so had been a series of trips to internet cafes & “locutorios” (where one can make phone calls.) In between the details of organizing a coffee buy, we did manage to enjoy one of favorite places in the world – Tarapoto.

It’s been somewhat frustrating to try and post on the blog. I picked up some malware in one café, and was afraid to log on and compromise the site.

Alas, duty calls and we’re off again (and off the computer again too.) We left Tarapoto in order to get to Villa Rica, and the Chacra D’dago to get some more samples and confirm our final order there, meet some new potential suppliers, and make our way to San Ramon for the second series of Curibamba Workshops this weekend. We’re also making arrangements for the distribution of solar coffee drying tents to the growers in the Curibamba Coffee Project.

It’s a two day journey via land, and there isn’t really any airport option short of flying back to Lima, and then flying to Jauja, which is still several hours to Villa Rica by bus or car. (As an afterthought – flying would have been worth it!) We’re finalizing our purchase of some wonderful coffees that we’ve tested, and visit with our friends, and make some new ones. 

(For more on Tarapoto see here, for more on Chacra D’dago, see here.)

 Here’s what it’s like to travel in Peru to the more remote provinces: Continue reading Tarapoto to Villa Rica – A Long Strange Coffee Trip (Part 1)

Kichwa Maijuna Conservation Area in Loreto Is Made Official

The Executive Branch issued Supreme Decree No. 008-2015 of the Ministry of Environment official the creation of the Regional Conservation Area Maijuna Kichwa. This comes after representatives of native communities in the basin of the Napo River in Loreto, announced that they would sue the government for the delay in the enactment, which has already waited for two years.

 

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