Marino Guevara Aljandria, El Higuerón, Peru | Natural FSC-9523

Huabal is a district of Jaén province in Cajamarca. Coffee there grows between 1,200 and 2,100 masl and is harvested broadly from April to September. The district spans several mountains, so climate and soils vary considerably across it. Marino Guevara Alejandria farms in the village of San Antonio, where his plot, El Higuerón, has 2 hectares of coffee at 1,584 masl. It is planted with Caturra (40%), Catuai (40%) and Bourbon (20%). He farms organically, although the farm is not certified. Marino has sold coffee to Falcon since 2022 and joined Falcon Specialty Plus in 2024. Through the programme he received a soil analysis and fertilisation plan, along with a refractometer, thermometer, thermohygrometer and plastic fermentation tanks. This lot is a natural Catuai from a fermentation trial Marino ran with the programme. Cherries were picked selectively and fermented anaerobically in cherry for 48 hours in plastic barrels, then dried in the sun on tarpaulins.

Falcon Coffees Peru was established in 2019 to source specialty coffee directly from farmers in northern Peru. It operates from warehouses in Jaén, in Cajamarca, and, since 2025, Moyobamba, in San Martín, buying directly from more than 500 farmers. Producers deliver parchment in small, day-to-day lots, and each delivery goes through physical analysis and cupping at the warehouse. Once a lot is cupped, the producer receives a same-day price offer and is paid by instant bank transfer. Pricing is set as a premium over the local market price according to the physical and cup quality delivered, which keeps feedback fast and supports cash flow on farm. Falcon visits farmers to assess their interest before they join, carries out baseline surveys covering varieties, altitude, farm size, soil, fertiliser use, processing and household data, and trains producers through group workshops, with its agronomists following up on individual farms through the year.