Peru Organic del Norte
ROASTING IN FEBRUARY
Grown, harvested, and processed amongst staple crops and banana trees, this limited release, organic washed coffee puts Peru’s distinct regional characteristics on center stage. Bright, citrusy, and sweet, Peru Organic del Norte is a mouthwatering and notably juicy dark roast.
SWEET ESCAPE
The flavor rushes in with the pure, clean sweetness of white sugar followed by waves of molasses invoking the panela the region is famous for. If you don’t know panela, it’s a traditional sweetener in Latin America, made from boiled and evaporated sugarcane juice that cools and hardens in molds. The kind of distinct flavor that transports you.
Following sugary sweetness, the tasting notes of stone fruit, orange peel, and melon are so notable you almost feel like you’re biting into them. A hint of cocoa powder in the finish, like you might expect from a South American brew … just enough to leave you ready for your next sip (or gulp, we don’t judge).
HIGH STANDARDS
Nestled in the upper elevations of Piura in northern Peru, smallholder farmers take their organic coffee seriously, following strict guidelines to ensure environmentally friendly and sustainable farming practices. We love that this coffee aligns with our commitment to responsible sourcing—which, in turn, helps improve conditions in coffee communities around the world. With Enveritas, our non-profit partner, we work to assess conditions on the farms where we source our coffees.
IT'S VINTAGE, DARLING
This region is famous to those in the know (“One of us! One of us!”) for specializing in heirloom coffee varieties, Typica and Bourbon. The former, a tall and elegant-tasting Arabica variety that, over the course of a hundred years, traveled from Ethiopia to Yemen, India, Java, royal greenhouses in Amsterdam and France, and finally, in the 1700s, to South America and the Caribbean. The latter—also Arabica—is sweet and bright, called after a French royal whose name was broadly used to indicate quality well before it became synonymous with American whiskey (you’ll see it applied to sugar, cotton, vanilla, and more). Both Typica and Bourbon are vital to the coffee variety family tree and still enjoyed today.
BACK TO PERU
Amongst mountains, valleys, and deserts of Peru, the smallholder coffee farms in this co-op come together to improve the quality of life for coffee producers and their families through environmental training programs, healthcare initiatives, and educational opportunities. A jewel of the region, it’s a shining example of responsible agronomy, and you can taste the dedication in each meticulous cup.
NOTES FROM THE PEET’S ROASTERY
When the beans first arrived at The Roastery, we took note of their color: mixed dark green and lighter olive green. Most were small with rounded edges, and some had silverish skin still present. There were no visible defects (we like that), and the not-yet-roasted beans smelled like grass or alfalfa.
During roasting, this coffee was very well behaved. First crack built to an obvious consensus and the roast slowed nicely after reducing heat. The very first pop at 390ºF seemed familiar and friendly, like the beans were saying hi. Both first and second crack were audible outside the roaster. This Peru produced a lot of smoke, and the air in the 12KG room was sweet and smelled like cashews. A straightforward and enjoyable roast.
After roasting, we were able to evaluate all 6 profiles with 6 tasters, blind and randomized. It was super fun to cup through these options! We don’t get to cup single origin Peruvian coffees very often, so we were looking forward to this one.
Near unanimously, we found a profile that struck a great balance between a nice depth of roast while maintaining lovely acidity and brightness. With a warming fragrance and notes of orange peel, cocoa, and papaya, it’s sweet and bright. It cools nicely and had a full body and silky mouth feel.
-John Nicolini and Michael Madden, Roasters; Jamie Smith, R&D
PEET’S LIMITED RELEASE COFFEES
You might think that a monthly coffee subscription sounds amazing in and of itself, but Peet’s coffee-of-the-month takes it a step further than most. Good things come in small packages, and we only get these coffees in small batches, which is why you can only find them at peets.com and only for a month at a time. They’re special. And while you don’t have to be a Small Batch Coffee subscriber to experience these amazing coffees, their fleeting nature means they can sell out—fast. So subscribing guarantees you get to taste each one of these incredibly special lots.