With desire and determination to create a better future, over 460 women coffee producers in Peru united to take a step toward empowerment and independence by growing, harvesting, and producing their own coffee. Appropriately, they decided to call their coffee Café Femenino. Today more than 1,500 women in Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru are all a part of Café Femenino. The Café Femenino Foundation and related co-operatives offer hope and education, and continue to nurture and grow self-confidence and independence. The individual co-op not only maintains a watchful eye on their current producers, but continues to seek and initiate programs and standards to change the unfairness and long-overlooked circumstances of mistreated women and children throughout all coffee producing countries of the world. BJ’s Coffee Roasters is committed to supporting these determined women and their organization. As a way for us to complete the circle of hope, we donate a portion of the proceeds from the sales of Café Femenino coffee to Open house Ministries in Vancouver, WA. You are part of this circle of support and hope. Thank you. ENJOY!

The contributing cooperatives are located in a valley spread around the small city of Caranavi, located 4 hours from La Paz. The trip to Caranavi, which used to take 12 hours on the old road, named “Highway of Death” for its frequency of accidents, now cruises down eastern facing slopes of the Andes Mountains on a new smooth highway. Still, most coffee producers rarely see more than just the city of Caranavi, as their small scale farms are scattered over dozens of communities throughout the surrounding mountains and hillsides. These small scale farmers focus not only on producing exceptional coffee, but also on maintaining and caring for the natural environment where they live and work. This coffee possesses a heavy, rich aroma, low acidity, smooth body, and sweet milk chocolate flavor. Medium Roast.

Since becoming Fair Trade certified, producer sales have risen and much has been invested to improve coffee quality and strengthen their local community and environment. Fair Trade prices will continue to enable the cooperative to support a scholarship program for cooperative member’s children, and initiate a reforestation project in the Ixtacapa River area. This bright and sweet coffee is as exciting in its aroma as its cupping profile. It has a wonderfully rich fruity aroma and in the cup it is a lively and bright, with nice fruit and citrus notes. Medium Roast.

The Cafe Femenino growing cooperatives arelocated in the southern highlands of Chiapas within the buffer zone of the El Triunfo Biosphere. El Triunfo is an area of great ecological importance because it contains two of the most complex and beautiful ecosystems in the world. El Triunfo’s unique ecosystems are home to an incredible quantity of plant and animal species considered rare or in danger of extinction. The cooperative members are deeply committed to sustainable agricultural practices that prevent the encroachment of agriculture into the fragile biosphere and the disturbance of the natural resources within its boundaries. The cooperatives are working hard to support the empowerment of their women members and to train them in improving their coffee production and quality. The Café Femenino program is helping to strengthen the cooperatives by creating a much stronger social cohesion in the organization, the community and within the families. These women deal with problems of lack of income due to the fact that their farms are small therefore limiting the amount of income that can be generated. The lack of income results in lack of food for the family, lack of medical care, lack of resources for clothing, education, recreation etc. Today 70% of these women must act as the head of household due to many husbands migrating to other areas in order to generate income for their families. Many of the women’s husbands never return, unable to support their families. Some of the women are also widows. This coffee is truly a treat. The cup has medium acidity, a good body, and very pleasant spicy flavors. Medium Roast.

The Penachi is about six hours North of the Coastal city of Chiclayo, Peru. Because the area is very desolate and remote, there is very little commercial activity beyond coffee and sustenance harvesting of tropical fruit and herbs. About 100 miles inland from the Pacific Coast, there is Andes Mountain Jungle, at elevations between 1100 and 1500 meters above sea level, that separates Peru from Equador. It is here in these mountains, that our organic coffee is grown. Cafe Femenino has been able to bring technological assistance to train the farmers in active organic growing practices, to improve their harvesting, processing and drying methods. When you try this coffee, you will be taken by suprise and immediately recognize the hard work that has gone into this fine coffee. It is bright and lively, with good acidity, medium body and with a pleasurable sweet finish. Medium Roast.