Finca La Lúcuma

Finca La Lúcuma is a distinguished coffee farm situated in the Cajamarca region of Peru, a territory increasingly recognized for its capacity to produce exceptional specialty-grade Arabica. The farm is managed by producer Grimanes Morales Lizana, whose commitment to quality has placed the estate at the forefront of the Peruvian specialty coffee movement. In the context of coffee traceability, the name serves as a marker of origin, identifying specific lots that have undergone rigorous evaluation and selection processes.

The farm achieved significant global prominence during the 2019 Cup of Excellence (CoE) competition in Peru. During this event, Finca La Lúcuma secured the first-place ranking, with its washed-process coffee achieving an impressive score of 92.28. This recognition by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence underscored the farm's ability to produce coffee that meets the highest international standards for flavor, complexity, and technical processing.

At the heart of Finca La Lúcuma’s success is the cultivation of the Costa Rica 95 variety. This cultivar, a dwarf selection of the Catimor lineage, is often favored in high-altitude regions for its productivity and resistance to leaf rust. When managed with precise agronomic practices, this variety can yield a cup profile that is highly sought after by specialty roasters for its clarity and balance.

The processing method employed at Finca La Lúcuma is the traditional washed process. This method involves the careful removal of the coffee cherry's pulp, followed by fermentation and thorough drying. The precision required in this process is critical to maintaining the clean, vibrant acidity that characterized the farm's award-winning lots, which were subsequently acquired by international roasters and importers from markets including Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

For the specialty coffee industry, Finca La Lúcuma represents the potential of smallholder farms in Cajamarca to compete on the world stage. The high bids achieved during the 2019 Cup of Excellence auction—reaching approximately $20 per pound—demonstrate the economic impact of quality-focused production. Such results provide a direct incentive for producers to invest in infrastructure and post-harvest techniques that elevate the final cup quality.

Understanding Finca La Lúcuma requires recognizing the broader context of Peruvian coffee production, where micro-climates and high elevations allow for the development of complex flavor profiles. The farm serves as a case study for how traceability and competition-level quality can transform a producer's standing in the global supply chain, moving beyond commodity-grade coffee toward a model that rewards meticulous farm management and sensory excellence.