Tangy and Sweet Selection from Finca Tasta, Peru

One of my favorite things about working with the same producers year after is seeing how their coffees can change over time. For the last three years, we’ve highlighted a different coffee from Finca Tasta in the Satipo Province of Junín, Peru, and we’re back to showcasing their washed coffee–the first coffee we ever purchased from Finca Tasta. But this harvest tastes different from the harvest several years ago. So, what’s changed? It turns out that it's just a lot of the same hard work Edith and the field team had been doing all along.

one of many sections of finca tasta where coffee trees grow. fourteen out of twenty-three hectares grow coffee; the rest is left completely untouched to protect local fauna

Finca Tasta is owned by siblings Edith and Ivan Meza Sagarvinaga, who inherited the farm from their late mother. They are committed to preserving the local environment, and nine out of twenty-three hectares of land are entirely wild to protect local fauna. During my visit in late 2022, I almost forgot I was at a farm because I felt like I was walking through a natural forest. I only remembered I was on a farm when I would see plots of land with neat rows of coffee trees. At Finca Tasta, Edith and Ivan also grow fruits and vegetables, including yucca, raspberries, blackberries, sugarcane, and tomatoes, and sell them at organic grocery stores in Lima. These days, Edith and Ivan have split their responsibilities to ensure the success of their operations. Ivan mainly manages their coffee operations in Lima, focusing on business with local roasters and marketing. With Edith’s expertise in coffee processing, she spearheads farm operations.

every coffee blossom turns into a coffee cherry

coffee cherries ripening at different stages

For the spring 2023 harvest, there was low coffee production at the national level due to heavier rains. But because trees in Finca Tasta were recovering from pruning, the farm had a higher production. Edith and Ivan’s goal is to produce unique coffees by using various processing methods, and with all this extra coffee, there was a lot of work to be done. Edith and Ivan hired more field members, and Edith had to diligently teach them about all seven processes they do at the farm. There is a high attention to detail that comes with processing, but it’s clear that their efforts paid off. The washed coffee we purchased this year has transformed since we last bought it. Back then, it was silky with some apple and chocolate undertones. This harvest, the coffee is brighter, juicier, and more delicate with some hints of florality. It reminds us of pineapples, Valencia oranges, and panela. 

after washing, coffee is dryed in parchment on raised drying beds

Finca Tasta has grown a lot and refined its processes over the last several years, but plenty of exciting things are still on the horizon. Finca Tasta won 6th place in a regional competition for coffee production, and as a result, they will receive financial support to expand their wet mill and purchase machinery. Edith and Ivan will also start purchasing coffee from their neighbors’ farms and begin processing it on Finca Tasta. New coffee varieties are also growing on the farm, which will be ready for harvest in 2027. We can expect to see more exceptional coffees from Finca Tasta in the coming years. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy this sweet and tangy coffee from the latest harvest.