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Translated by Cristina Espejo


When Fernando Holguín began in the coffee industry, he wasn’t even alive yet. He was born into the heart of a coffee-producing family in Quillabamba, the bellybutton of the world. That was where he first experienced the intoxicating smell of freshly toasted coffee, tried the ripe berries, sweet and red. He grew up taking in life go drop by drop. Until a series of unfortunate events, worsened by the presence of guerrilla groups in the area, forced the Holguín family to abandon their lands. The agrarian reform would do its share to end this chapter.

In Lima, and with nothing more than a family that only knew how to make coffee, they did just that… made coffee.

And in their garage, they began the business. They installed a old-fashioned coffee roaster, got to work and were once again doing what they knew.

“We sold by the kilogram, store by store. My father and grandfather were in charge on the management of the business, and it provided us with enough to live decently.”

With the third generation educated in the best universities, the company began to prosper. It was no longer the small coffee roaster in the grandfather’s garage, it was a business on the verge of exporting.

“When you have a gift and enough passion, nothing is impossible, the key is to professionalize, learn the techniques and aim for the excellence of your work with to back the quality of what you produce.”

Fernando and his brothers have fought for coffee from their trenches and, along with a group of first-rate coffee makers, were able to remove the “label” from our bags on grain in New York, achieving prestige for our product, which until then had been considered a mere filler, and placed it at the top of its category, with which exports multiplied.

Today, Peruvian coffee competes with the world’s best, the quality of our coffee is recognized in the most important coffee-producing countries in the world, and the exports, believe it or not, are close to 350 million dollars a year. In other words, it is the most important agricultural product exported from Peru, more important than asparagus and paprika.

But how many Peruvians know this? Is it known that coffee is the main alternative crop to coca leaves?

“Throughout its development in the ceja de selva** of Peru, from Moyobamba in the north at the frontier with Ecuador, to San Juan del Oro in the south, coffee has been the best alternative crop to coca leaves. However, it has in addition been the means of survival for hundreds of families who were able to overcome difficult times thanks to their coffee crops.”

His passion for coffee led Fernando to become president of the Industrial Coffee Producers Committee of the National Industrial Society, where he works to win back our coffee’s place within our country, and that is his greatest challenge.

“Internationally our coffee is considered a product of extraordinary quality. We have won prestigious international awards and yet, paradoxically, Peruvians are the lowest coffee consumers in the region: 250 grams annually per capita compared to Brazil’s 4.5 kg, and Colombia’s 3.2 kg. So our responsibility is to change this reality, achieving high quality products for national consumption. Until recently, coffee production for internal sale was terrible, so the last kind of coffee a Peruvian would think of trying was a Peruvian one. Now the coffee producers have decided we should give the country back what it rightfully owns, show that we are prophets in our own country, and for that we have a plan of action to promote coffee both politically and socially. We are creating “National Coffee Day”, which aims to form a precedent for future generations. In this event, the Production Minister Rafael Rey, the Agriculture Minister Ismael Benavides, the President of Peru, Alan Garcia, the National Industry Society, the Peruvian Chamber of Coffee, the National Coffee Committee, the coffee guilds and the most important Peruvian coffee producers, will sign the document officially founding “National Coffee Day” while we show the general public the greatness of our product.”

Peruvian coffee is as representative of our country as are the flag, pisco, paso horses and Machu Picchu. It fills us with pride; even more knowing that thanks to its characteristics, Peru is the first organic coffee producer in the world. This is because the lands where it is grown and has been grown have never been treated with chemical fertilizers or products of that kind.

“We are sure that we will achieve our objectives, not only because we are working together, but because we have a first-rate quality product that we will make available to national consumers, so that they can enjoy it and also be proud of it.”

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* Starting in 1969, the military government of Velasco confiscated land from wealthy land-owners and redistributed it amongst poor farmers.
** The area where the Andes and rainforest merge.