We had the pleasure of hosting our key supply chain partners on the production side in Lima last week for a producer group summit as the season is underway. We got producer group leaders from all over Peru together for calibration, strategic planning, and educational skill-share sessions. Groups came from the border of Ecuador to the border of Bolivia, and everywhere in between.
We built sessions around cupping, QC, contracting, and financing, plus one-on-ones with leaders from each group to talk over specifics for our season together.
Each organization sent two members: one general or commercial manager, and one quality control manager. QC sessions included defect identification and scoring calibration from our lab team, while finance and contract sessions focused on financing options, risk management, and contract education going into the harvest. In one-on-ones, we set expectations for the season, nailing down estimates for quantities and prices as well as addressing questions and concerns. 
One of the best parts was getting everyone together in one place. Though they share long-standing relationships with us, some of the producer organization leaders we work with had never met in person, and some had never even talked. After this summit, they’re now connected, able to put a face to a name, collaborate, and skill-share going forward.
Cupping & QC Sessions 
We held six cuppings in Lima last week with the QC leads from most of the producer groups we work with in Peru to get everyone together and calibrate on what we at Red Fox are looking for quality-wise.
Day one began with an overview of some of the origins in which we work outside of Peru. It was fun and enriching to share some of our favorite arrivals from around the world, and for the cuppers to experience new origins and processes.
The second cupping focused on defects, specifically fade. Some samples we presented on the table were clean, some had slight fade, and some showed severe fade. We slipped in one phenolic lot as well (because why not). We stressed the importance of identifying even very low levels of fade, building understanding that by the time that coffee makes it to market, it will often be much worse than it presents before leaving origin.
For the final cupping of the day, we presented various qualities of Mexican coffee. The exercise was to identify which coffees were below Red Fox quality, which were community or bulk quality, and which were producer ID quality. We had a good discussion about what characteristics make a coffee fit into which category, and it was interesting to see where consensus fell.
Day two introduced everyone to signal detection cupping. We presented some recent Peru offers in signal detection cupping format, and had everyone assess them in that framework. Our first goal was to show our process for evaluating offers and creating quantified decisions out of qualitative sensory analysis. Our second goal was to see how calibrated the cuppers were with each other and with themselves.
For the last two cuppings we asked everyone to bring a few coffees from their early deliveries this harvest and we roasted them for evaluation. We did two signal detection cuppings, one of coffees from the northern groups and one of coffees from the southern groups. It was valuable for everyone to see their coffees evaluated in real time. There was a lively discussion, especially around community versus separate quality.
We saw cuppers leave with more confidence in their cupping ability and a better understanding of our process, what we’re looking for, and what we mean when we give them feedback.
Finance & Contracting 
It’s a complex season, as the C market and local price swing widely from one day to another.
While the QC leads calibrated at our lab, the management team members participated in a full-day training with Tony Arbe, the General Manager of the Peruvian Chamber of Coffee and Cocoa, on futures contracts and risk management options. He explained options for managing fixations and for using insurance options to mitigate risk in a volatile market, something that very few of the groups have done before.
With smaller, newer cooperatives and producer associations, financing is always a challenge, but the liquidity crunch that began in 2024 and has persisted has increased the severity of these challenges and the knowledge needed to ensure financing and risk management.
On the second day, we brought together association general and commercial managers with a key social lender in the area, talking through what it takes to get financing.
The Season So Far
The harvest is well underway in the north and just kicking off in the south. We begin milling this weekend with the first shipment scheduled to go afloat at end of July and more to follow.
Supply is down this year, partly due to long, unseasonable rains and partly due to the cyclic nature of the crop. This is creating exceptional demand and competition.
As the C market and local price are exceptionally volatile, we’re moving with caution as we set prices, buying as we go to maximize value for you, our roaster clients.
If you haven’t yet, please get in touch with us to talk through your need for the season, so that we can make sure you’re covered as we acquire coffee. 
Interested in sourcing coffee with us? Reach out at info@redfoxcoffeemerchants.com. To learn more about our work, check out our journal and follow us on Instagram @redfoxcoffeemerchants.