An unfortunate reality of small-holder coffee production like that which is commonplace in the mountainous highlands of Peru, is the ever-growing generational gap among coffee producers. As coffee production around the world faces more uncertainty and challenges than arguably ever before, it’s not surprising that younger generations are hesitant to view coffee production as a future worth pursuing. It’s despite this reality that coffee producer Geovanny Herrera represents somewhat of an outlier. A coffee producer from a young age, Geovanny Herrera began growing coffee after inheriting a parcel of his parent's farm, where he quickly began applying the knowledge he’d gained from his father and older brother over many years prior. Today, with now seven years of hands-on experience under his belt, it is safe to say that Geovanny’s diligence and talent for producing high-quality coffee indicates a bright future ahead. Among many plans that he has for his farm, Geovanny is looking forward to future harvests of new high-quality varieties that he’s recently planted, with the ultimate goal of one day entering into Peru’s’ Cup of Excellence competition.

This is the first year that Passenger has featured coffee from Geovanny Herrera. He is one of a growing number of single-producer Reserve Lots that together represent an evolving chapter in the Passenger's Foundational sourcing program in the Cusco region. While our team has bought and presented coffees from Cusco for many years, it was only more recently that Cusco officially joined the Foundational menu alongside our five other year-round offerings from producers in Ethiopia, El Salvador, Colombia, Burundi, and Brazil. For each of these Foundational Partnerships, the goal is the same: to try to add value for the relevant producers as a reliable, ongoing buyer - intentionally prioritizing the purchase of a broad representation (i.e. not just the 'cream of the crop') of the coffees and quality grades that each partner produces.

To that end, Passenger’s green buying team is working with our Peru sourcing partners at Caravela Coffee to carefully evaluate each small delivery of coffee that each member of a small group of Cusco farmers produces throughout the harvest. By tasting each lot individually, we are able to make collaborative decisions regarding which lots to blend for the Passenger Foundational offering, and which lots to feature as special separations - as we are with the present Reserve Lot from Geovanny. This is the same purchasing model that informs the development of all of Passenger’s Foundational Partnerships and, given the nascent stage of these relationships in Cusco, we are especially excited to be seeing these single producer lots added to the menu for a second consecutive year.