What’s brewing this month?

From Peru, we welcome this delightful Coffee of the Month - Ukuku!

This cup is bursting with flavours of Black Cherry, Milk Chocolate & Honeycomb, and makes for a wonderful filter coffee or luxurious espresso.

—

More about the coffee:

Ukuku is a character from the Andean mythology. The folkloric story says that Ukuku was born from the union of a woman with a spectacled bear and the creature is half man half bear. The bear fell deeply in love with the lady and decided to hold her captive. 

The lady became pregnant and when Ukuku was older she told him that his father - the bear - was keeping her from her freedom, so Ukuku decided to kill his father to let his mother live in liberty.

Ukuku inherited wisdom from his mother and strength from his father. This character is in charge of protecting the community and the environment as well as purifying the lands with ice brought from the snowy peaks of the region to hope for great harvests. Ukuku is the guardian of Andean customs and spirituality connected to Pachamama (Mother Earth).

The producers who currently contribute to Ukuku are from Jaen and Cutervo, of the northern area of Cajamarca in Peru. In 2019, Caravela started working with 20 producers of Cutervo and nowadays, the quality team is working with the producers on the higher elevations of Jaen as well.

Cutervo (1550 masl) and the higher elevation areas of Jaen (2000 masl) are rich in biodiversity, with clay soils and permanent rain. The farms are close to the National Natural Reserve of San Andrés and the Huamantanga Forest, which create ideal microclimates for the production of specialty coffee.

Ukuku coffee is processed using the washed method. The method begins by manually picking the ripe cherry with the help of family members and neighbors. Afterwards, the cherries are floated to clear any impurities such as branches, leaves or dry cherries.

At the wet mill, in each farm, the cherries are pulped without water after which the beans are traditionally left to ferment either in open-air tanks or closed bags for 30 to 45 hours. Following this, the coffee beans are washed 2 to 3 times. For drying, the beans are taken to solar dryers - the drying takes 15 to 20 days depending on the climate conditions at each farm. 

Ukuku is a blend of caturra, bourbon and catuai varieties. The flavour notes of black cherry and red berry are dominating, with subtle tones of milk chocolate. In the cup, you’ll notice aromas of elderflower and fresh peppercorn, with an aftertaste of sweet honeycomb and rooibos tea. Enjoy!

—

How does Coffee of the Month work?

We produce a brand spanking new coffee, every month. If you’re someone who thinks variety is the spice of life - this one's for you. 

Our Coffee of the Month gives us the opportunity to shine a light on a specific grower or community as we explore amazingly diverse coffees from all around the world.