EFRAIN SALVADOR PERU 2017 CUP OF EXCELLENCE
This week, we have the honor to share with you a cup of pure magic. This season, we were able to secure 65 pounds of an absolutely stunning Peru, Cup of Excellence winning, coffee from our partner, Efrain Carhuallocllo Salvador. Efrain’s farm, located right outside of the village of El Corazón, in Northwest Peru, stole our heart when we first visited, before melting it when we first tasted his coffee. Efrain’s coffee, aka Corazón, is filled with juiciness, and drips with tropical complexity, complete with bright liveliness throughout.
The Cup of Excellence (CoE) is a competition created to honor excellent coffee quality and empower farmers across the world. This was the inaugural year for the CoE competition in Peru, where hundreds of producers across the country submitted their finest lots. After 5 rounds of vigorous evaluation, the top scoring coffees were recognized as winners. The winning coffee was then auctioned off, and we were able to secure Efrain’s coffee with the highest bid, paying $51.40/lb, marking the most expensive coffee we’ve purchased to date at Madcap. We only have 65 pounds of this limited, award-winning coffee that we are excited to share with you. It will be available in our 3 Grand Rapids locations and our Detroit pop-up for $15 a cup. We also have 50 gram tins available to brew at home, or give as the perfect stocking stuffer for your coffee loving loved one.
We met Efrain and began working with him last season. It’s no surprise that we fell in love with his coffee after visiting his farm and seeing how he works. He’s become a leader in his village, and has taken many other producers under his wing, sharing his tips of what it takes to grow and process excellent coffee. He lives on his farm which is situated at desirable elevations that extend over 2,000 meters above sea level. The farm, which he started in 2007, is filled with nearly all Yellow Caturra variety that is carefully harvested, processed, and dried right outside his home.
We immediately noticed, this is a serious man, who is serious about his coffee. In an area where most coffee has been traditionally bulked and blended together, it has taken leaders like Efrain to lead the way, focusing on quality and the potential that lies ahead. The winning price of this lot of coffee achieves a price more than 25 times what the farm was receiving just a couple of years ago. The village of El Corazón, and even the surrounding region of Chirinos, has been in celebration following the competition, as it hasn’t just been a win for Efrain, but a win for the whole community and a glimpse of a bright future in coffee for the whole region.
