Bourbon by Ciriaco Quispe Mamani in Puno, Peru
US$0.00
Producer: Ciriaco Quispe Mamani
Origin: Puno, Peru
Cultivar: Bourbon
Processing: Washed
Tasting: plum jam, soft herbals, cacao
Importer: Red Fox
With anchoring demerara sugar, chamomile, along with white grape and thyme complexity, this 100% Bourbon washed lot is cultivated and produced by Ciriaco Quispe Mamani on his family farm in the Sandía Valley in Puno, Peru. From original seedstock brought to this area by the UN in the ’80’s, the strain of this variety reminds us of Bourbon from East Africa.
This is quite a small lot at a single 69kg bag, due (likely) to soaring internal pricing of parchment coffee, and high competition for top quality lots, paired with a politically tumultuous year culminating in the closure of the main roads/ port routes in Peru back in the fall, mere days after this lot left for the USA.
This is something that folks don’t typically talk about, the realities of being a producer or even a buyer in situations that aren’t stable. Fortunately, for us and for Ciriaco and his family, they are safe and sound and we’re so thankful to have his coffee for this most recent harvest year.
Producer
Ciriaco Quispe Mamani lives and works in Puno, part of the Sandia Valley, north of the department capital of Juliaca, very close to the border of Bolivia. This place is where the United Nations decided to help out with diverting away from coca production with the hope of providing an alternative to a living that isn’t always all that safe – They wanted to bring back coffee production to the valley. In the ’80s, the UN was responsible for introducing Bourbon seed stock, a variety that we all know is delicious, but is certainly not a common choice today – It’s usually a more hearty hybrid.
Processing
Once the ripe cherries are pick, Ciriaco depulps the fruit from the seed and proceeds to ferment the sticky mucilage layer off the seed using a 36-46 hours under water fermentation, followed by 15-20 days drying on raised beds.
Water
We brew all our coffees with municipal water that flows from our taps in Metro Vancouver. This municipal source is very soft, low ppm water (around 30 TDS)
There are many alternative water recipes out there that will produce tasty cups if your water from the tap isn’t giving you good results. A good place to start is 1/2 strength Third Wave Water of around 60-70ppm (0.16g.-0.2g./L of TWW powder).
Brewing
We make an effort to taste our coffees in a variety of ways, but mostly use cupping, V60, and Kalita 155 brews as our main ways of quality control and dialling in roast profiles. Our filter recipes can be found in our Journal here: