Alipio Villoslada

Alipio is a seasoned 3rd generation coffee farmer from the district of Santa Rosa in Cajamarca. Here, he has his farm El Pajuro, named after the pajuro plants on the border of his farm acting as living barriers. At the farm, he lives with his wife Ricardina Mendoza and one of his eight sons. Alipio has been in coffee since he was a young boy helping and learning from his father, but for him he started in coffee when he was 15 years old. His father gifted him a parcel of land to start his own coffee production and since then, he has stopped and just increased the size of his farm and improved his quality. Alipio remembers 2014 as the year he started seeing coffee as a jewel he had to take care of, and as such, since then he has been motivated to produce high quality coffee and good farm management. At the farm he is helped by his wife and one of his sons. His wife is his fundamental support, as she works as the administrator of the farm, helps with drying and harvest. His son, is his generational relay who is following his footstep, right now helping with fertilization, weed control, and others. With his farm he has been able to achieve many things with the effort and care he has placed. He is proud of seeing his beautiful and healthy green trees, knowing he is taking care of the environment.

Alipio’s coffee process starts with a good picking of the ripest cherries which are then taken to the wet mill of the farm. There, the cherries floated in water to clean them from defects such as dry cherries. Afterwards, the cherries are left to ferment for 18 hours in open bags. The cherries are pulped, and the coffee beans placed in tightly sealed bags to ferment for 36 hours. After, the coffee beans are washed and placed in Alipio’s drying space where it will take from 12 to 16 days to be ready.