Introducing Marco Antonio: A 13th Anniversary Exclusive
For our anniversary, we wanted a coffee that represents not just quality — but intent. A producer who is young, progressive, and deeply invested in his craft.

At just 30 years old, Marco Antonio Estela Vasques has already spent half his life in coffee. Raised in San Francisco, in the district of Huabal, Jaén, he began working alongside his family at 15. Today, he manages two hectares at 1,540 metres above sea level — planted primarily with Catuai and Geisha — varieties that speak to both reliability and aspiration. Structure and elegance.

Precision at Origin

What sets Marco apart is not scale, but control. All cherries are processed at his own wet mill, where he operates two fermentation tanks and a solar drying system. This on-site infrastructure gives him something rare for a producer of his size: genuine flexibility — the ability to respond to seasonal conditions, experiment with flavour development, and refine small lots with purpose.

Washed: Cherries are pulped and fermented for 30–70 hours depending on ambient conditions, then dried on parchment for 10–15 days.

Natural: Whole cherries dry slowly over 20–30 days, building depth and fruit expression.

By adjusting both fermentation length and drying protocols, Marco is able to produce differentiated flavour profiles without sacrificing consistency. In recent seasons, he has also begun exploring anaerobic fermentation — pushing further into clarity, sweetness, and structure.

Farming with Intention

Marco's farm management balances tradition with practicality: thoughtful shade cover, mixed organic and chemical fertilisation, and integrated pest control using fungicides and ethological traps to manage roya and coffee borer pressure.

Like many producers in Peru, he faces real challenges — climate variability, rising input costs, labour constraints during harvest. But recent seasons have returned strong cupping scores and improving price realisation, particularly as his Geisha plantings mature and his process work compounds. The farm is run by Marco and his family, with additional pickers during peak harvest. It remains small. Personal. Hands-on.

Why This Coffee

For us, anniversary coffees are not just celebratory — they are reflective. They represent where coffee is headed.

Marco embodies the next generation of producers: technically aware, infrastructure-invested, quality-focused, and genuinely curious. This lot is where thoughtful fermentation, careful drying, and progressive planting choices converge in the cup.

A small farm in Cajamarca. A young producer refining his craft. A coffee that carries both heritage and forward movement.

That felt right for this milestone.

This is our second natural-processed lot from Peru — and hands down our favourite so far. Where our previous washed lots showcased clarity and structure, this one opens up in a different direction entirely. We love it as a single origin pour-over, and we think you will too.