The coffee we currently use for Easy Rider comes from two Peruvian communites in the Huabál district: El Huaco and La Huaca. Huabál is located in the Cajamarca region, that is becoming more and more popular because of its outstanding qualities and mouthwatering flavour profiles. The Cup of Excellence has contributed to its fame, as the district is home to several finalists of the competition. 

During the Roya (coffee rust) plague in 2012/2013, many farmers in Huabál lost significants parts of their coffee harvest. Luckily, many of them also had other sources of income and therefore they weren’t forced to leave their land. Whereas the Peruvian government started promoting resistant cultivars, most farmers in Huabál continued working with trees from traditional varieties that survived the Roya. And with positive effects: these varieties have become quite strong and deliver a much more delicious cup than the Roya resistant ones. As the interest in specialty produce is growing year by year, more farmers are planting back those traditional cultivars.

Huabál has just started its journey to excellence and we’re very pleased that, together with our importing partner, we can work together with those dedicated producers from the El Huaco and La Huaca communities. By buying this coffee, we support the farmers so that they can work on improving the infrastructure, drying capacity and storage conditions. It gives them the motivation and inspiration to produce even higher quality coffee in the future and we’re looking forward to be part of their journey.