Coffee Story
Cristobal Cordova Jimenez was born on June 24, 1970 in the Chirinos district in Cajamarca’s San Ignacio province. His parents, Don Monasterio and Doña Dolariza, migrated from the high Andes of Piura, where, due to the altitude and the cold, only root vegetables could be grown. They came to San Ignacio for better, warmer farmland that was hospitable to a larger variety of crops.
Cristobal is the fourth of 10 children. Since childhood, he has learned to work the land, primarily growing coffee, but he has also planted maize, beans, potatoes, and other crops to support his family. In 1994, Cristóbal received a donation from his parents of 1 hectare of agricultural land, which he used to grow, specifically Typica, Bourbon, and Pache varieties. In 2000, he purchased an additional 2 hectares and expanded his coffee crops by planting yellow Caturra.
Over time, Cristobal, his wife Gloria, and their four children began to implement better agricultural techniques on their farm Los Quiques, such as better spacing between coffee plants, planting better seeds specially adapted to the different altitudinal floors of the area, better post-harvest management, and other techniques. Cristobal plans to continue growing coffee for the rest of his life, teaching his family and neighbours good agricultural practices that will improve their farms' economic performance, and listening to his favourite music, cumbia San Juanera.
Cristobal Cordova’s two-hectare farm, Los Quiques, is located high in the Andean mountains of Cajamarca at a staggering 1,800 meters above sea level. This particular lot is composed entirely of Yellow Caturra, a mutation of the Bourbon variety known for its honey-like sweetness, fruit-forward and chocolatey notes, and a medium to full-bodied texture.
As a filter, this coffee is a crowd pleaser, offering everything you would look for in a morning coffee: simple, clean, with a full texture and plenty of sweetness. The dry grounds themselves transported us to Sunday breakfasts at home, sitting with a bowlful of Honey Cheerios while watching the sunrise. The cup is well-balanced and sweet, with notes of baked fruit reminiscent of stewed pear tarts and applesauce. The fruit notes balance out quite nicely with the more intense nuttiness, evoking a blondie bar studded with candied pecans and almonds. This coffee works exceptionally well as a darker filter brew, with its liveliness and balanced notes of baked fruit, but would also stand up to milk as a brooding, rich espresso.
