Who are the Ramos Garcia Family?
Emiliano Ramos Gallardo and Mirian Garcia Cavero are lifelong, dedicated coffee farmers from Huaranchal, a small town in Northern Peru with less than 10 specialty coffee producing families. Coffee has been a tradition for generations for Mirian, while Emiliano was used to growing more fruits. The farm used to solely grow granadillas, a tropical fruit a distant cousin from passion fruit.
After years of working with with the fruit production, the family faced challenges with pests and low profitability, while also wanting to pay for the education of their son, Everson. This led them to embrace the meeting with Carlos and Greins from Proyecto Otuzco in 2017, who since have trained them in producing specialty coffee from cultivation to harvest and drying.
About Emiliano, Mirian, and the farm
The Ramos Garcia farm is located in La Colpa, a village in the Huaranchal district of Otuzco, part of the La Libertad region. The farm sits at an elevation of 2100 meters above sea level, and sits snug in the valleys of a very desert, mountainous region, known more for coal mining.
The family have around 2.5 hectares and grow many fruits alongside the coffee and use the fruit trees as shade for the coffee but also another form of income. They have guinea pigs, chickens and a few sheep which they mainly use for the manure for their compost and organic fertiliser.
How was the coffee processed?
Emiliano and Mirian have learned and refined their coffee processing techniques through their work with the Proyecto Otuzco, and specifically Carlos who is a Q Processing Level 2.
Their goal is to create specialty coffee that highlights the unique characteristics of the quite unknown coffee producing province of Otuzco. They only work with natural coffees for now because of the access to water and how dry the climate suits this process.
They start by selective harvesting ripe cherries only and then place these cherries in buckets for 6-12 hours. After this first initial fermentation, they take the whole cherries to the raised beds where they dry for 15-20 days, turning every 6-12 hours.
The final stage of the drying process involved the now dried, whole cherries in a blanket for 5-10 days. Depending on the weather determines the times but they aim for a 10% humidity level.
What Emiliano & Mirian want you to know
Emiliano and Mirian are determined to continue in their path of improving quality and higher prices for their coffee. They welcome all the partnerships and visits from Proyecto Otuzco and firmly believe in their vision of sourcing the best coffee from Otuzco, and their role within it. They want to take advantage of their high altitude microclimates and experiment with innovative coffee processes techniques such as Double Anaerobic Black Honey, Black and Red Honey of which, they have tested this year with a small amount.
- Producer - Ramos Garcia Family
- Origin - La Colpa, Huaranchal, Otuzco, La Libertad
- Varietal -Red Cattura
- Altitude - 2100 MASL
- Process - Natural
- Notes -Panela, Red Grape, Chocolate