There are few coffee pros as serious about their craft as Efrain Salvador Carhuallocllo, who produces the award-winning “Corazón” coffee in San Ignacio, Peru. His uncompromising attention to detail and meticulous practices throughout the process are present each time you sit down and enjoy his coffee. The perfectly harvested, ripe, Yellow Caturra variety he grows provides insane tropical juiciness while the fortuitous elevations above 2000 meters lend a lively complexity. Last year Efrain was awarded 2nd place at the first ever Peru Cup of Excellence Competition with hundreds of coffees being evaluated.

Although you can taste Efrain’s intention and the brilliant terroir in which it was grown today, it wasn’t always this way. Just a couple years ago his coffee, just like all of his neighbors, was bulked and blended together as one. The good, the bad, and the ugly were all mixed together for a very average tasting coffee, with all the farmers receiving the same low price. Efrain, a 3rd generation coffee producer, was compelled to do great work and give it his best. On our first visit to the area in 2016, we had the chance to taste some of his coffee before it was blended with the rest. We were absolutely stunned by the brilliance of Corazón. Since then, Efrain has become a dear partner to us as well as a leader in his community. As the word is beginning to get out about the great coffee in San Ignacio, Efrain has been assisting other farmers in producing great quality and, for the first time, receiving a sustainable profit for their work.

We are happy to have met Efrain and we are so pleased to have the opportunity to share Corazón with you. As we drink it in the roastery, we’ve found Corazón to be a dreamy experience with each sip offering new, expansive layers of liveliness sure to capture the heart.