Villa Rica Coffee

Villa Rica sits at around 1,500 metres on the edge of the cloud forest in Pasco, and it grows what is widely regarded as some of the best coffee in Peru - arabica varieties on volcanic-derived soils under shade, at altitudes that slow the cherry's development and concentrate flavour. It holds a denomination of origin, Café Villa Rica, granted in 2010, one of the few Peruvian products with that protection. Farms around the town, many run by descendants of the Austro-German colonists of Oxapampa and Pozuzo alongside Yánesha communities and Andean migrants, offer tours covering picking, depulping, fermentation, drying and roasting, with tastings. Peru is a substantial coffee exporter and overwhelmingly a smallholder one, with most farms under five hectares, and prices paid to growers remain the central issue in the sector.

What to look for

• The shade farms - arabica grown under canopy at around 1,500 metres.
• The denomination - Café Villa Rica, protected since 2010.
• The process - picking, depulping, fermentation, drying and roasting on farm.
• The smallholder economy - most farms under five hectares.

When to go

May to September for roads; harvest and processing run roughly April to August, which is when farm visits show the most. A day or an overnight.

Practical notes

Long road journeys from Lima - ten hours or more. Rain and mud year-round in the cloud forest. Farm tours must be arranged in advance. Outside harvest there is little processing to see.

Nearby

Oxapampa is north; Chanchamayo and La Merced are south-west.