Finca El Babaco

In the lush hills of La Coipa in Cajamarca, near the forests of the Tabaconas-Namballe National Sanctuary, Finca El Babaco sits surrounded by coffee and tropical fruit trees. The farm is named after the babaco fruit that grows among the coffee, something Bernabé Padilla sees as a symbol of the freshness and sustenance the land provides for his family. A third-generation producer, Bernabé started young, receiving half a hectare of coffee from his father at fourteen. Over the years he expanded that gift into his own project, building on family tradition while steadily improving quality and process.

Today, Bernabé and his wife Neydi Tocto work side by side to keep raising the bar. They have invested in better drying infrastructure and refined their approach to harvesting and fermentation. Ripe cherries are carefully selected, then undergo 24 hours of anaerobic fermentation in cherry followed by 96 hours after pulping, before about 18 days of solar drying. Grown at 1,886 meters across 3.7 hectares of coffee land, the Gesha variety thrives in the farm’s cool, steady climate. The result is a washed coffee with unmatched clarity with tropical fruit notes, a silky texture and a lasting floral finish.