Dilser Torres has been growing coffee since 2007 in Cajamarca, the main growing region of Peru.

Dilser’s parents and neighbors dedicated their lives to growing sugar cane and producing aguardiente, a South American liquor made of sugar cane. Unfortunately the prices for aguardiente dropped, and it no longer paid enough to sustain and feed their families.

They decided to start diversifying their farm’s crop and began to plant coffee trees, introducing themselves to the world of coffee.

“We heard that coffee could be profitable and that it offered much better incomes, so we decided to give it a try.” says Dilser.

While he’s been producing coffee since 2007, but it wasn’t until 2019 that he decided to go a step forward and he went from producing and selling his coffee as conventional coffees to specialty coffees.

“In these few but intense years, I’ve learned to manage by farm, take care of the coffee I produce, and I continue learning every day with the help and technical assistance received from industry educators.”

“When Caravela [our origin sourcing partner in Peru] first visited my farm and told me that my farm had huge potential in producing specialty coffees and that my life could change, I didn’t believe it. But when I started delivering coffee to them and I saw the results, I understood what they meant and today I’m grateful for their support and for helping me get to where I am now.”