Peru — Smallholder Producers, La Higuera (Washed Organic)

Tastes Like — 🍫 Brown Sugar • 🍒 Plum • 🍵 Black Tea • 🍑 Stone Fruit

DETAILS

• Producer: Multiple smallholder farmers
• Region: Colasay, Cajamarca, Peru
• Varietal: Bourbon, Catuai, Catimor
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,800–2,200 MASL
• Size: 250g

INTRO

La Higuera is named after the small village in Colasay where a tight-knit group of smallholder producers contribute their coffee cherries to be processed together. This is now the fourth year Prolog have worked with this coffee, having first introduced it in 2020 — a longevity that speaks to both the consistent quality of the lot and the strength of the relationship Prolog have built with their import partner, Origin Coffee Lab.

This coffee carries organic certification, reflecting the thoughtful, low-intervention approach to farming that characterises the Colasay region. Prolog's roastery manager Mikolaj has visited the area twice, in 2023 and 2025, and each time has been struck by the steady improvements in quality across recent harvests.

THE PRODUCER

La Higuera is the collective effort of several smallholder farmers from the village of the same name, situated in the Colasay district of Cajamarca, Peru. Their farms span altitudes between 1,800 and 2,200 metres above sea level — an ideal range for slow, even cherry development and the kind of dense, nuanced coffee beans that Colasay is increasingly celebrated for producing.

The Colasay region has become a quiet benchmark for Peruvian specialty coffee, with a concentration of Bourbon varieties and skilled smallholder producers whose careful post-harvest practices produce coffees of remarkable clarity and sweetness. La Higuera is a beautiful example of this region's potential.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at La Higuera involves:

• 🍒 Selective Harvest — Ripe cherries hand-picked by colour
• 🔧 Depulping — Mechanical removal of the cherry skin
• 🧪 Fermentation — Beans fermented in tanks before washing
• 💧 Washing — Fully washed with clean water
• ☀️ Drying — Dried slowly on raised beds; Colasay's misty highland climate extends drying time, preserving delicate aromatics and freshness

The extended, cool drying process that characterises Colasay coffee is widely believed to contribute to the region's signature vibrancy and ability to hold onto fresh, delicate notes through shipping and storage.

THE CUP

Round, sweet, and elegantly structured — La Higuera opens with comforting brown sugar sweetness, moves through juicy plum and stone fruit notes, and finishes with a refined black tea character that lingers gently. A coffee that rewards patience and careful brewing.

Flavour Notes

• 🍫 Brown Sugar
• 🍒 Plum
• 🍵 Black Tea
• 🍑 Stone Fruit