All orders will be roasted fresh to order and shipped the following Wednesday.

The fine folks at Yellow Rooster Coffee Imports had the chance to travel to Peru this past summer, where they arranged to meet Ms. Vásquez on one of their farm visits. Driving into the mountains about two hours from the nearest city of Jaén, they started the ascent by foot to Esmérita’s plot that she calls La Esperanza (Hope). She met them with a huge smile and a lot of presence, machete swinging from her belt by her side.

Ms. Vásquez's plot is a beautifully green piece of land at the top of the mountain, with a 360º view of the surrounding area. Her farming style is quite rustic, but the varietal selection speaks for itself. Esmérita and her husband do all the work on the harvest, so days get long and mobility is difficult. But therein lies some of the magic to this cup — because it’s just the two of them, they physically can’t harvest and then rush to pulp the coffees in the same day, as is common in many parts of the world. Instead, they leave the day’s harvest tied up in grain pro bags, right there on the farm to collect a few days later, which incidentally begins a slightly intense fermentation stage, somewhat mimicking the now-popular “anaerobic” style.

The cup is strong yet nuanced, a perfect combination of excellent climate conditions and land management.

Esmerita’s Recipe: She ferments her coffee for a total of 48 hours in grain pro bags. First, she ferments it in cherry for 12 hours. Then, she de-pulps it and ferments it again in bags for 36 more hours. After washing the depulped coffee, she moves it in bags to her house in La Coipa to dry on raised beds for 20-25 days, depending on the climate of the area.